Fordham universitys graduate school of education, through its center for educational partnerships, will serve three high-need school districts in new york city, the nations largest local educational…

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded a $811,316 Project Grant under the STOP School Violence program to Fordham University's Graduate School of Education. Over a 36-month period from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026, the project will serve 480 participants, including 240 K-12 students and 240 school personnel across three high-need school districts in New York City. The interventions will focus on mental health strategies, evidence-based techniques for improving school climate and culture, and restorative justice practices as alternatives to suspensions. The project aims to help participants recognize, understand, and respond to factors that contribute to student violence, while also cultivating prosocial behaviors through social-emotional learning. The grant will support culturally sensitive and appropriate programming tailored to the partner school districts' large minority and economically disadvantaged student populations.

Fordham universitys graduate school of education, through its center for educational partnerships, will serve three high-need school districts in new york city, the nations largest local educational agency (LEA) serving nearly 1 million students. The partner leas, community school districts (csds) four and five and the manhattan high school district, are all located in nycs borough of manhattan and serve more than 52,000 elementary and secondary school students, 96.2 percent of whom are minorities (primarily african american and hispanic), and 79 percent of whom are economically disadvantaged based on their eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. The borough of manhattan has a demonstrated need for school violence prevention services. The project will serve 480 participants over a 36-month period. The target audience will consist of 240 students in grades K12 and 240 school personnel (e.g., principals, teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, family workers and nypd school safety agents) over that span. The projects primary interventions will consist of workshops covering three topic areas: (1) mental health-based strategies that help participants recognize, understand, and respond to stressors and triggers that lead to student violence; (2) evidence-based strategies for improving school climate and culture to prevent and/or reduce incidents of youth-related violence; and (3) restorative justice practices that can be used as alternatives to suspensions and other severe types of student discipline. The project will focus on culturally sensitive and appropriate techniques specific to the partner leas large minority enrollment. Interventions for kindergarten to grade 12 pupils will include socioemotional learning (SEL) driven classes that cultivate prosocial behaviors (i.e., mindfulness) while also helping these young people better understand and deal with negative emotions.