A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

"KPS Safe Schools-Healthy Students Initiative"
Kentwood, Michigan

Partners:
Kentwood Public Schools
Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services
City of Kentwood Police Department
Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth, Inc.

The Kentwood Public School (KPS) District serves nearly 8,500 students in K-12, alternative education, preschool, and adult education programs. KPS includes 10 elementary, three middle, one freshman, two alternative, and one high school. The district contains approximately 18,765 households. There is a large income disparity among families. Within the 10 elementary schools, three have a higher incident of free- or reduced-cost lunch than any of the others. Approximately 2,390 district families speak no or limited English, or speak English as a second language.

The initiative will also be supported by Arbor Circle, a merger of five well-established agencies?Advisory Center for Teens, Outpatient Substance Abuse, Child Guidance Clinic, Family Impact, and Mercy Respite Center; and Family Talk, Inc., which provides workshops, mentorships, and intervention with urban teens.

The goals of the program are to: 1) increase the number of assets and decrease deficits among KPS students in the Search Institute Survey (every two years in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades); 2) increase mental-health counseling services; and 3) improve measured academic/developmental performance (tests and grades). Activities include development of a video on early childhood development activities for families, "KidKits" containing educational and play items for toddlers and their parents, providing family/ individual/ group counseling, a comprehensive drug/alcohol prevention program in all middle and high schools, a car-pooling system, and surveying students on additional after-school or summer activities needed. Also included are youth workshops on topics from anger management to conflict resolution, the design and implementation of a violence intervention program, and retreats on topics ranging from transition to 9th grade to sexual abuse. A series of workshops for parents of high-risk youth and a professional development series for teachers will be created. The program will also establish the "Kentwood Volunteer Network" of one-on-one personal and professional mentorships. In addition, it will strengthen the School-to-Work program, develop a crisis response plan, place police officers in the highest risk schools to interact with students and provide mentoring, create a youth intervention program and process for first-time offenders.

The local evaluation plan will be conducted by Donna Van Iwaarden of Grand Valley State University?s School of Public Administration and director of the Office of Community Research.

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