Now, with a $1.7 million grant the Temple ISD will be able to upgrade its facility and increase staffing to implement the district’s Safe Schools/ Healthy Students Initiative, which will make more resources available to students toward the end of a safer and drug-free learning environment, according to a press release about the grant.
The grant is the largest federal grant awarded to school districts in the United States.
“This grant is going to help with a broad range of issues,” said John Maspero, who was recently named TISD’s director of safe schools, and will work directly for the initiative. “We already offer a number of services, but it will help us offer a greater amount of expert services and counseling to our students.”
Maspero is a former special education teacher who worked at the Wheatley Alternative Education Center with at-risk students.
According to TISD, the initiative being offered through the grant will have seven key goals:
Providing and maintaining a safe school environment.
Reducing incidents of alcohol, tobacco and drug use among students.
Increasing positive relationships in schools and communities.
Increasing the number and range of services that specifically address early childhood physiological and emotional development.
nIncreasing academic achievement, especially with at-risk students, and decreasing the dropout rate.
Developing coordinated plans and policies that promote and support a safe, drug-free and disciplined learning environment.
Sustaining community collaborations.
Maspero said the TISD should receive the money early next year, and will be eligible to request four more years of funding.
According to Maspero, some of the projects include safety assessments for entrances at all school campuses, assessments for violent data within the schools, and student surveys to see if students feel like safety is an issue at their schools.
Once the issues are identified, Temple ISD will be able to implement programs to reduce negative trends. Maspero said the district would partner with local mental health facilities, local law enforcement agencies and local juvenile justice agencies.
Maspero also said TISD superintendent Dr. Robin Battershell will work with officials from the various agencies, and a “core-team” would be assembled for oversight decisions.
“The ultimate goal is to make every effort to bring the community together so we can help our students carry the initiative through,” Maspero said. “We’re going to actively seek partnerships with the community and grow programs through this initiative.”
Two weeks ago, Maspero and Kallen Vaden, the TISD director of business services, attended a two-day seminar in Washington, D.C., instructing them how to implement the initiative.
“We’re in the early stages,” Maspero said. “So far my job has been to make sure we follow all federal regulations that are laid out (in accepting the grant). Once the ball begins to roll, we’re going to be able to do a lot of things to help our students and our community out.”
