In the Allegany County, Maryland schools, the first sign of the opioid crisis was a dropoff in usually strong elementary school attendance.

A 5-year-old boy had been living for two days with his father and the father’s girlfriend, both of whom had overdosed and died. The dead couple were discovered only when the boy went to neighbors after running out of food.

David Cox, superintendent since 2009, said there has been a “dramatic change” overall in the last five years in his rural western Maryland district, “with each successive year getting progressively worse.”

The stories he shared Wednesday with a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on how the opioid crisis is affecting American communities were tough to hear.

Twice last school year, when Head Start teachers were making home visits, a preschooler answered the door and revealed his mother was “sleeping.” Both had overdosed; one was dead, Cox said.

Read the full article on the opioid crisis hurting schools by Carolyn Phenicie at The 74