Kershaw County School DistrictSafe Schools / Healthy

StudentsGrant Initiative

Kevin Rhodes – Project Director

What is the Safe Schools / Healthy Students Initiative?

Ours is a $5.7 million 4 to 5 year federal grant and

cannot be renewed

This is intended as “seed money” rather than a

one-time cash infusion

A major goal of the project is that it become self-

sustaining after the grant term expires

The terms of the grant limit the type of projects

we can implement

What is the Safe Schools / Healthy Students Initiative?

Most of the grant’s initiatives will be delivered by existing community groups, agencies, and organizations

“The beauty of this grant is that it is

designed to tap into and enhance existing

community resources”

Who Manages the Grant?• Federal Project Officer (FPO) – Patrick Weld• Project Director – Kevin Rhodes

– Technical Assistance and Support (TAS) Team– National Evaluation Team (NET)– National Communications Team

• KCSD Superintendent – Dr. Frank Morgan• KCSD CFO – Donnie Wilson• Local Evaluator – Tidwell & Associates• Core Management Team

– Law Enforcement – Sheriff Steve McCaskill, Chief Joe Floyd, Inv. Wayne Nesbitt, Det. Damien Burris, Det. Tyrell “Rock” Coleman

– Department of Juvenile Justice– Judge Bill Byars, George Jackson

– Santee / Wateree Mental Health – Richard Guess, Rene’e Hampton

– The ALPHA Center – Paul Napper, Mara Jones, Tina Griggs

– Communities in Schools – Jennifer Adams– Plus other advisors (School Administrators, Local

Ministers, etc.)

Grant Highlights

• 3 Additional School Resource Officers

• Reinstate:– Youth Court– Bridge Program (DJJ)– JEEP (Juveniles

Experiencing Excellence

Program)• New Digital Bus

Cameras• New Anti Violence

and Anti Drug Curriculum K-10 (Too Good for Drugs & Violence)

• 1 Substance Abuse Intervention Specialist

• 5 New School Based Mental Health Counselors

• 3 New After-School Programs

• 2 New Summer Activity Programs

• Training & Support for All of the Above

• Plus a lot more…

How Will We Measure Our Success?

• The grant application spells out specific measurement criteria

• These criteria must be set and defined before any implementation can begin

• Results are to be gathered and reported to the Grant Administrator

(in Washington, DC) twice per year• All programs and initiatives must be Measurable and

Evidence-Based!

•We have awarded two contracts to provide Summer Activity Programs to:

Camden First United Methodist Church Camp Emmanuel (Emmanuel United Methodist

Church)

• SSHS is sponsoring a total of 80 needy and at-risk local children

• These programs will employ the Voyager model as an evidence-based academic enrichment curriculum. They will also provide formal and informal character development and plain old summertime fun!

• Meals provided at no cost to the project by the United Way’s Summer Food Program

Where Are We Today?

We have awarded a contract to The ALPHA Behavioral Health Center

• Substance-Abuse Intervention Specialist• Technical Assistants for the Too Good for Drugs

& Violence Curriculum (x2)• Bridge Program Coordinator• Youth Court Coordinator

We have signed a contract between KCSD and

Santee-Wateree Department of Mental Health

• 5 additional school-based Mental Health Counselors

• Based primarily in High & Middle Schools

(including CLC)

Where Are We Today?

We have initiated a contract between KCSD and the

Kershaw County Department of Juvenile Justice to reinstate Juveniles Experiencing Excellence Program (JEEP)

• This is a employment-based mentoring and life-skills program

• We will need a total of 18 businesses and other organizations to provide employment and coaching per semester, plus a summer session

• At present Kershaw County will be the only location in the state with this nationally recognized intervention and diversion program.

Where Are We Today?

We are finalizing the RFP review process for three (3) newAfter School Programs

• Elgin / West Wateree (Blaney Elementary)

• Camden (Jackson Elementary)• Bethune / North Central areas

(Midway Elementary)• Goal is to serve approx. 75 students

per location

We have signed a contract between the KCSD and the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office to provide:

• 3 additional School Resource Officers

• Based primarily in Elementary Schools

• Will assist classroom teachers in teaching students K-10 the new Too Good for Drugs and Violence Curriculum

We will be expanding PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) to all 11 KCSD elementary schools.

• District-Wide PBIS training August 3-5.

Where Are We Today?

We are finalizing plans to begin phasing in upgrades of school bus security cameras to a digital standard in all KCSD school busses by the end of the grant period.

Community Outreach & Feedback

To date we’ve conducted grant updates to:– Kirkwood Community Center– Lugoff Optimist Club– West Wateree Rotary Club– Camden Rotary Club– Camden Lions Club– Kiwanis International (Camden)– United Way of Kershaw County– IMPACT Kershaw County– Lyttleton Street UMC– Health Resource Center (August 11th)

Community Outreach & Feedback

Dr. Morgan’s monthly

Chronicle-Independent

column featured an overview of the grant on

July 5th

Community Outreach & Feedback

The Chronicle-Independent featured

the grant’s Summer Programs in a front-

page article on July 16th

Additional Opportunities The National SS/HS

Initiative has offered an optional grant resource to focus on mentoring initiatives

Up to $300,000 over 3 years

Only existing SS/HS grantees are eligible

We wrote a detailed proposal in partnership with the United Way of Kershaw County

We expect a response by late September

This is a community-wide initiativeThe beauty of the grant is that is designed to tap into and enhance existing community programs and

resourcesThis is a services-oriented grant

Sustainability is a major focus of this overall initiative… we are operating with an eye to additional outside funding resources

when the grant ends.

Summary

What Can You Do To Help?Tell everyone you

know that this is a community-wide initiative, not just a school district program

Remind others that this grant represents an opportunity to build, expand and support our existing local community program infrastructure

Encourage everyone you can think of to volunteer their time at their local school. 15-20 minutes at lunch twice a month can have a huge impact on a child!

Encourage community groups & businesses to get involved. (summer program, after-school programs, mentoring, JEEP, etc.)

Visit our website & blog regularly for grant updates www.kershaw.k12.sc.us/safeschools

Kevin RhodesProject Director

Safe Schools / Healthy Students Initiative Kershaw County School District

1301 DuBose CourtCamden, SC  29020

803.425.8094 (office)803.572.2520 (mobile)

www.kershaw.k12.sc.us/safeschoolskevin.rhodes@kcsdschools.net