USD 333 awarded three-year grant

Concordia Unified School District 333 superintendent of schools Quentin Breese has announced that the school district has been awarded a three-year grant from the Kansas State Department of Education for $263,499.
The  grant funds are authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, providing federal funds to state educational agencies for activities to support safe and healthy students under section 4108 of the ESEA.
USD 333 submitted the application in September as part of a competitive selection process.  
The USD 333 Stronger Connections project will give the district an opportunity to create a School Within a School for Concordia Junior-Senior High School, and provide access to other student services for social, emotional, physical, and mental well-being needs.
Grant funds will help USD 333 to meet its mission of creating and maintaining an environment that ensures that all members of the school community meet their highest level of academic achievement.  
School Within a School will be available to students who are identified as needing social, emotional, and/or mental health support that they are not able to obtain with regular classroom attendance. The  concept provides options as needed for alternative high school diplomas, specialized mental health services from qualified professionals, and alternative classroom environments. With these alternative placements available, USD 333 is committed to helping students at all levels be successful.  
The USD 333 Stronger Connections project plan will continue educator training to help teachers and staff to understand and give support, when necessary, for each student's social, emotional, physical, and mental well-being needs. Through the three-year plan, the district will also increase access to specialized services for identified students.  
The project follows the seven recommendations of the United States Department of Education Supporting Mental Health Report to help meet the challenges of providing school- or program-based mental health support across early childhood and K-12 schools.  
A 2023 "State of Mental Health in America" report says that Kansas performs worse on key measures of mental health than anywhere else in the U.S. (Mental Health America, 2023). This report found high rates of addiction among young people and mental illness and suicidal thoughts among adults, placing Kansas in last place of all states.
In part, the challenges of mental health care are due to a shortfall of psychiatrists, therapists, and other mental health care workers, particularly in rural areas.
This project will help to ensure that our identified students will receive guidance from qualified mental health specialists when necessary, resulting in more student academic success.  
The three year grant authorizes funding beginning November 2023 and ending September 2026.
Grant funds will be used to hire personnel for the School Within a School, specialized mental health training and student support services, virtual coursework, and a software system that will improve the collection of student data in the areas of behavioral, social-emotional, and mental health incidents.  Improving the tracking of this data will help to improve services available to students through the school district and other community service providers who collaborate with the school district.
Examples of community service providers include mental health agencies, Division of Children & Families (DCF), Juvenile Justice Authority (JJA), Court Appointed Special Advocates, law enforcement, and health care services.
Other Kansas school districts receiving the award include:  USD 217 Rolla, USD 233 Olathe, USD 261 Haysville, USD 266 Maize, USD 305 Salina, USD 333 Concordia, USD 401 Chase-Raymond, USD 434 Santa Fe Trail, USD 443 Dodge City, USD 497 Lawrence, USD 500 Kansas City, USD 501 Topeka, and USD 506 Labette County.