1-8-04 - The Durant Public School announced today that the District and its community partners have been awarded a $3 million grant, funded over a three year period, from the federal Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative to reduce violence and increase mental health services in Durant schools. “This grant has the potential to have more impact – academically, on school safety and on the mental health of our students than anything we’ve ever done before,” said Duane Merideth, Assistant Superintendent. “Violence prevention and school safety are vital to providing our students with the tools and environment they need to succeed in the classroom and in life,” said Greg Howse, Project Director. “The Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant helps us to implement programs and services to foster safe school environments and promote healthy youth development.” Building on the Initiative’s collaborative framework, Durant’s Safe Schools/Healthy Students
mission brings together students, parents, educators, mental health agencies, politicians, law enforcement and faith organizations to talk about violence prevention.

In turn, Durant and its partners will tailor their programs to address six elements:

1. Safe school environment
2. Violence, alcohol and other drug prevention and early intervention
3. School and community mental health preventive and treatment intervention services
4. Early childhood psychosocial and emotional development
5. Truancy within our schools
6. School safety policies

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant Team, which is made up of highly-skilled professionals, which includes certified counselors and therapists, social workers, a truancy prevention coordinator, a community relations coordinator and other professional staff. Through this grant program this “team” will be working with the school faculty and staff to implement many new programs into our classrooms. The following is a brief overview of a few of the programs coming
soon. LifeSkills® is a three-year intervention program initiated in the 6th grade and continued in the 7th and 8th grades as the student’s progress through the school system.
- Durant School District Press Release