The Laconia School District received a $1,000,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's STOP School Violence Program (CFDA 16.839) to implement the "Building Bridges to Safe Schools" initiative. This three-year project aims to reduce school violence, promote a positive climate, increase safety, and expand access to behavioral and mental health services for students. Key activities include implementing restorative justice practices, providing crisis prevention and verbal de-escalation training, adopting a multi-tiered system of support for behavioral wellness, offering professional development on self-care and mental health, delivering an evidence-based social-emotional curriculum, hiring student outreach coordinators, and establishing a school-based suicide awareness and prevention program. Additionally, the project will create a multi-disciplinary emergency planning team and implement ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training. The grant will also fund after-school clubs focused on school safety initiatives. Expected outcomes include reduced suspension durations, increased instructional time, decreased office discipline referrals, improved school safety, and enhanced access to mental health services for students.