MHS/MVTHS Awarded Teen Violence Prevention Grant
Medford High School (MHS) and the Medford Vocational Technical High School (MVTHS) have been awarded a (3) year, $10,000 grant from the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to address the need for teen dating violence prevention and intervention. Medford was one of (10) school districts from across the Commonwealth selected for grant. The grant was written in collaboration with adjustment counselors, the supervisors of health education, health services and the leadership team at both schools.
According to data from Casa Myrna,(www.casamyrna.org), a Boston social service coalition, (1) in (4) adolescents report verbal, physical, emotional or sexual abuse from a dating partner each year and (1) in (3) females who have been in a serious relationship indicate that they have been concerned about being physically hurt by their partner. It has been shown that when drug use is involved, the prevalence of violence rises. Being awarded this grant enables the Medford Public Schools to be pro-active in its mission to address teen violence prevention and to provide educational resources for our student population.
The Teen Dating Violence and Intervention grant will allow for the development of a male & female mentoring program, a healthy relationships workshop series, and to establish a violence prevention club. The mentoring program will provide positive role models for both male and female students. Beginning in September, students will be assigned a trained mentor (mentor training is funded by the grant) to help students with character building. Workshops, led by a violence prevention specialist funded by the grant, will educate and empower students to create positive relationships and learn how to prevent violence will be implemented. Students will be taught to recognize the warning signs of unhealthy behaviors in relationships. The violence prevention club will allow students to meet weekly to promote healthy behaviors/relationships amongst their peers, by hosting a number of violence prevention activities, including a Safe Day. Safe Day would strive to encourage students to focus on positive relationships and kindness. All of these initiatives will continue to enhance the ability of the Medford Public Schools to provide a safe, inclusive, diverse and supportive learning environment for all students.
In addition, the grant will permit the secondary schools within the district to work with school social workers to identify a list of local mental health, legal and other support service resources. This list, when it becomes available, will be posted on the school’s website and be distributed to faculty and students, as part of the teen violence prevention and intervention educational sessions. It will allow for professional development for all school staff to help them identify warning signs of students who might be involved in an unhealthy situation. It will also enable students to attend the “Empowering Girls Conference’ sponsored by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, as well as, “Women in Sports Day†sponsored by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. The goals of this grant are not only to build a student’s self-esteem, but also to support all students. The Medford Public Schools are committed to work to sustain the program over time.
– Submitted by the Medford Public Schools