Peabody school receives $26G safety grant

PEABODY – The Massachusetts Attorney General?s Office announced Thursday that the Higgins Middle School is one of a dozen others in the state to receive School Safety grant money.A total of $412,302.83 will be awarded, $26,000 of which will go to the Higgins Middle School, said Grant Woodman, a spokesperson at the Attorney General?s Office. Peabody was the only community on the North Shore to receive a portion of the grant money.The award comes through the Improving School Climate Initiative and may be used for education, outreach, and peer mediation programs that support and improve the school?s climate for all students, teachers, and staff members.?School and community safety is one of the most important priorities for residents of the Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Martha Coakley. “Creating a positive school climate – one in which all students, parents, faculty, and staff feel safe, valued, and accepted – is instrumental in reducing acts of violence and supporting education excellence. These grants offer the opportunity for schools and communities to support research-based programming that add to their violence prevention efforts.”Recipients of this year?s grant money were schools and organizations that demonstrated community need and an intervention plan responsive to that need. They were also chosen based on their formation of a strong, creative, and collaborative violence prevention plan that included conflict resolution programs, efforts to address school policies, bullying prevention, and school/community wide education.Requests for the grant began in March with a deadline of May 15. Winners were notified last week and distribution of grant money will begin in early July.