Former Virginia school paraprofessional sentenced after providing alcohol, vapes to minors 

A former employee at a Virginia school district is serving a four-month sentence after admitting to providing alcohol and vapes in her home to at least three minors, according to WSLS 10 News.

“Alleghany Highland Public Schools (AHPS) is aware of a press release issued by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office today that a paraprofessional formerly employed by AHPS has been convicted and sentenced on charges relating to the delinquency of a minor,” the district said in a statement, noting it had learned of the allegations and criminal investigation in April.

“Following review of the circumstances and in accordance with division policies, applicable law, and due process requirements, the School Board terminated the employee’s contract in May 2026.”

The former employee, Raven Hamm, had purchased the alcohol and vapes and made them available to juveniles at her home Jan. 31, investigators said.

“The sheriff’s office said Hamm admitted to the accusations during interviews,” the news outlet wrote. “She was charged with three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and three counts of distributing, purchasing or providing alcohol to a person under the age of 21.”

The district, which is in Low Moor, enrolls approximately 2,800 pre-K-12 students across the Alleghany County area. 

Other incidents involving alcohol, vaping use 

Districts in other states have come under scrutiny over similar allegations, where “potential misconduct” by school employees involved students.

In Oklahoma, one minor was hospitalized in October after a weekend party where Elgin Public Schools staff members reportedly served alcohol.

Meanwhile, Texas elementary school students suffered “stomach aches and headaches” after one mother, Teresa Isabel Bernal, brought alcohol-infused Jell-O shots to her daughter’s Christmas party.

A student vomited twice after consuming the shots, according to news reports.

Bernal was later arrested and charged with felony injury to a child.

“In my opinion, there is no way Bernal could have missed the fact that the Jell-O shots she purchased … and brought to her daughter’s 5th-grade Christmas party contained drinking alcohol,” the arrest affidavit read.

Schools nationwide are also considering ways to address student vaping, with some installing vape detectors in bathrooms.

“Most of the time, the staff get there while the kids are still in the bathroom,” said Chief Information Officer Scott Cabral for Fall River Public Schools in Massachusetts. “And for that one-off occasion where they don’t [see] the text and they’re [out] of the bathroom already, what you do, is you do some old-fashioned police work. Our cameras are pointed right at the direction of the entrances of the bathroom.”

(Image credit: created with Gemini AI)