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"Safe Schools/Healthy Students"
Ft. Myers, Florida
| Partners: | The School District of Lee County Florida Department of Children and Family Services - Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health Lee County Sheriff's Office | |
Lee County is an urban area located on the southwest coast of Florida, between Tampa and Naples. Rapid growth has characterized this area. Forty-eight percent of African American youth in the county live below the poverty level. The percentage of students reported to be using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco is significantly higher than the national average. The 3,281 teachers in the School District of Lee County serve over 53,000 students in 67 schools and special centers. The district is geographically divided in three zones. The grant will provide for an even distribution of services over these three zones and one central area.
In addition to the core partners, other agencies involved with BRIDGES include the Coalition for a Drug-Free Lee County, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Multi-systemic Therapy Services, Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Office of the State Attorney.
BRIDGES is a multi-faceted approach to achieving safe schools and healthy students. The primary focus is on prevention through safety, education, and intervention with at-risk youth. Early childhood services currently offered to children ages 4-5 will be extended to include pregnant mothers and children ages 0-3 and their families, through the Head Start program. A nurse will identify pregnant mothers, young children and their families who are at-risk and offer home visits, screenings and referrals to local agencies. A licensed mental health clinician will identify children with behavioral concerns, provide strategies to parents/teachers, and implement playgroups with parents and their babies/toddlers. BRIDGES will expand the use of a curriculum to prevent drug abuse and violence to elementary, middle and high school. School social workers will be trained in multi-systemic therapy to provide family and community-based treatment. This treatment will address serious antisocial behavior in school-aged children and provide parents with skills and resources they need to address difficulties with their children. To support educational reform efforts, the school district's Staff Development Center will offer workshops on brain-based learning principles, cultural sensitivity, and cooperative learning. A School Safety Analyst will be appointed to each of the three different school zones covered by the grant to gather information on violent activities on school campuses; identify users of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs as well as those involved in gangs; and transmit the information to provide prevention and intervention services.
A lead evaluator from Florida Gulf Coast University's School of Education will develop and implement the evaluation component to measure achievement of goals and objectives of the grant as well as of individual program activities.
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[Largo, Florida]