THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504180101
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JON GLASS
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
FEDERAL GRANT TO HELP MAKE SCHOOLS SAFER
Rising middle-schoolers who are most at risk of failing or becoming discipline problems will be among the first to benefit from a $508,238 federal safe schools grant awarded recently to Norfolk and Portsmouth schools.
Norfolk school officials are now selecting 180 fifth-graders for a weeklong summer academy designed to build self-esteem and leadership skills. The students will be paired with mentors from Norolk high schools and Norfolk State and Old Dominion universities.
Project director Barry Hylton, who heads up security for Norfolk schools, said the program had been in the works for a couple of years but, until now, there was no money to fund it.
The federal grant, awarded under the Safe Schools Act, is the first aimed specifically at making schools more secure. Also in the works, Hylton said, are programs to train teachers in youth aggression and alternative discipline methods and to identify security needs in the city's middle and high schools.
In addition, work has begun on videos about drug abuse and school safety and a program on child abuse for elementary students and their parents. by CNB