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"Safe Schools/Healthy Students"
Washington, D.C.
| Partners: | Maya Angelou Public Charter School Maya Angelou Public Charter School Metropolitan Police Department | |
Washington, DC, our nation's capital, is a large metropolitan city that is 66% African American. The public school population is 96% African American. The D.C. Charter Schools Coalition's 17 schools serve 8,400 high-risk students, most of whom are two or more years below grade level. Forty-one percent of District children live below the poverty level, 21% under extreme economic deprivation, and 39% in high-risk families. Sixty-three percent of DC students are eligible for free school lunch. During 1993-94, the dropout rate was 20.9%, more than twice the national urban figure; only 53% of D.C. youth graduate from high school. Healthy lifestyles for thousands of D.C. children are hindered by environmental and societal realities such as poverty, drugs, gangs, and child abuse.
The primary partners of the project include the lead agency, the Maya Angelou Public Charter School, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Commission on Mental Health Services. Primary oversight of the initiative will be the shared responsibility of the 17 participating schools.
This project will incorporate a comprehensive, integrated network of critical core social, health, and education services, including early intervention and prevention and treatment programs, using a bottom-up, grassroots approach within a predominately poor, African-American community. The early childhood education component will provide preschoolers with developmentally appropriate services, provide teen parents with parenting skills and home visitations, include teen fathers in parent training, and provide referrals to infant and early childcare for siblings. Alcohol/drug prevention efforts focus on developing a comprehensive school/community prevention program, improving access to age-appropriate substance abuse treatment services, and coordinating prevention/treatment activities with community efforts. In mental health, strategies include providing school-based, comprehensive services using a one stop service center, and developing coordinated linkages with existing city-wide efforts. Safe school policies will be based on a framework for developing and monitoring codes of conduct and effectiveness of disciplinary actions through open dialogue and identifying standards and strategies. Educational reform focuses on implementing after-school programs and integrating leadership training and life skills activities. Identified youth development models will be delivered to school personnel through training and reinforced skill practice. School safety will be enhanced through the presence of law enforcement professionals in school activities, the installation of security devices, and conduct of a security assessment.
The InnoNet Group will conduct the process evaluation; a competitive bid process will determine who will conduct the impact/outcome evaluation.
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[Ft. Myers, Florida]