WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni is pleased to announce that the King Philip Regional School District has received a school safety grant.
King Philip received a $55,300 federal grant through the Student, Teachers and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Grant Program. The grant is managed and administered by the Massachusetts Office of Grants and Research. King Philip is one of 14 grant recipients announced by the state on March 30.
“We are very thankful to have received grant funding through the STOP program as it will allow us to take additional steps to enhance the safety of our schools for our students and staff,” Superintendent Zinni said. “I would like to thank Regional Director of Wellness Dot Pearl for her proactive work in securing this complex grant for our district and our elementary school districts.”
Director Pearl applied for the grant on behalf of King Philip, Norfolk, Wrentham and Plainville school districts. All four districts work collaboratively on school safety alongside their local law enforcement agencies.
The grant will allow the four districts to focus on threat assessment and crisis intervention teams at all levels. Mental health and counseling teams, building administrators and school staff will be trained alongside local law enforcement in Comprehensive Threat Assessment Guidelines.
The training and development of the teams will support a problem-solving approach to violence prevention that incorporates both assessment and intervention. Part of the preventative, proactive approach will involve supporting staff to increase their skills and knowledge of risk factors, strategies and referral processes to support a safe and supportive school environment for all while preventing school violence.
As part of this grant, students will also receive training on how to seek help for themselves and what to do when they are concerned about a peer or someone else.
“Massachusetts remains deeply committed to working with our partners across state and local agencies to ensure our schools offer a safe and healthy learning environment for our children and educators. These grants will provide the resources that school officials need to enhance safety and mitigate potential threats,” said Gov. Maura Healey.
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