President Bush joins Paige by telephone to make grant to Chancellor Levy during school visit.

New York City, Sept. 17— President Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has delivered $4 million in support to the New York City Board of Education. The grant will support grief and trauma counseling and other services for students and educators in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Paige traveled to New York on Monday to tour schools that were damaged and directly impacted as a result of the attacks. New York City Board of Education Chancellor Harold O. Levy led Paige on the tour, and the two met with students and teachers to discuss their experiences during the past week and the importance to getting back to school.

During a visit to P.S. 41, where students are back in classes, and teachers from other schools that remain closed are planning for the needs of their students, Paige and Levy received a phone call from President Bush. During the call, President Bush announced that the New York City schools would receive a $4 million immediate service grant from the U.S. Department of Education as part of its Project SERV. The president announced what will be the first step in the Education Department's efforts to help students, families and teachers in the New York area who have been deeply impacted by the terrorist attacks.

In the coming days, the department will announce a series of grants to school districts directly impacted by the terrorist attacks located elsewhere in New York State, as well as to districts in Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. They will also be providing other forms of assistance and support to these school districts as they develop long-range trauma response plans to help the members of their school communities.

"This is just the first step in our effort to help the children of New York City and the teachers who come to school each day to help them learn," Paige said. "I am proud that we can provide the schools of New York City with immediate and substantial assistance with counseling for children, families and teachers. These schools will be offering the children they serve important counseling services as they grapple with the horrifying damage and unspeakable loss that this area has suffered."

Most New York City schools resumed regular operations Monday morning, and the school district has announced that students who attend elementary, intermediate and high schools nearest the World Trade Center site will report to alternate locations beginning Thursday morning. Paige said, "Chancellor Levy and the leadership of this community have worked tirelessly to reopen New York's schools and offer students the chance to get back to the business of learning. It has been a privilege for me to welcome the children of New York back to their classrooms and to offer them much needed support."

The grant made today is part of the department's Project SERV. Created with a $10 million appropriation from Congress in 2000, Project SERV is intended to provide assistance such as counseling services to local school districts that have experienced a traumatic event. The funds are available to meet the immediate needs of the students in these school districts as well as their longer-term crisis response needs.

In addition to offering grants and other support services to directly impacted school districts, the Department of Education has developed suggestions for parents, educators and other caring adults to help them meet the needs of all children in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. These suggestions and links to other Web resources are listed on the Department of Education's Web site at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/september11/index.html.

Top