Archived: $38 Million Awarded to Promote Healthy Children, Prevent School Violence and Drug Abuse

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PRESS RELEASES
$38 Million Awarded to Promote Healthy Children, Prevent School Violence and Drug Abuse

FOR RELEASE:
October 6, 2004

Contact: Susan Aspey
or Samara Yudof
(202) 401-1576


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	Help Your Child Grow Up Healthy and Strong English (PDF—455K) Spanish (PDF—443K)

Twenty-four school districts have been awarded more than $38 million in grants for projects to promote healthy child development and prevent alcohol and drug abuse, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced today.

"We all have a responsibility to ensure that our students attend school in a safe environment," Secretary Paige said. "Millions of parents entrust schools with their most precious resource—their children. Children simply can't learn or reach their full potential if they are in an unsafe environment and one where drugs and alcohol are rampant."

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative is a partnership between the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice and Health and Human Services to help local school districts develop comprehensive plans to address the problems of school violence and alcohol and drug abuse. The initiative draws on the best practices of education, justice, social services and mental health systems to provide a coordinated, comprehensive set of resources for youth prevention programs and services.

Local school districts or groups of school districts can partner with their community's mental health, law enforcement and juvenile justice system on activities, curriculums, programs and services.

"Creating safe schools involves a significant amount of inter-agency collaboration, and the development of programs that serve the needs of youth from K-12, and involve parents, students, clergy, and other community groups," Paige added. "The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative provides the funds necessary to develop and engage in these comprehensive strategies that are essential to the creation of safe schools."

A complete list of grant awards follows at the end of this release.

The grants are housed within the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, which supports efforts to create safe schools, respond to crises, prevent drug and alcohol abuse, ensure the health and well being of students, and teach students good citizenship and character. The office also coordinates the Department's efforts in these areas with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the Department of Justice.

More information about the grants is available at www.ed.gov.

Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant Program

Alaska
City and Borough of Juneau School District: $960,730
Juneau, Alaska

Arizona
Yuma Elementary School District: $2,627,041
Yuma, Ariz.

Arkansas
West Memphis School District: $2,875,066
West Memphis, Ark.

California
Bakersfield City School District: $2,601,628
Bakersfield, Calif.

ABC Unified School District: $1,904,539
Cerritos, Calif.

Napa County Office of Education: $1,922,267
Napa, Calif.

Georgia
Wheeler County Board of Education: $953,182
Alamo, Ga.

Idaho
Lapwai School District: $957,789
Lapwai, Idaho

Illinois
Joliet Township High School District: $1,241,380
Joliet, Ill.

Gallatin County School District: $946,681
Junction, Ill.