WEYMOUTH — Superintendent Jennifer Curtis-Whipple is pleased to announce that Weymouth Public Schools has been awarded a grant to support student’s behavioral and mental health and wellness.
Weymouth Public Schools received a $83,271 grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) Supporting Students’ Behavioral and Mental Health and Wellness Fund to progress the district’s vision for social-emotional learning (SEL).
“We are pleased to have received such a highly sought after grant to improve upon our previously existing social-emotional learning curriculum,” Assistant Curriculum Director of Social-Emotional Learning Dennis Jones said. “This is an amazing opportunity for our district and it will help our SEL team provide all the resources our students need throughout these difficult times during the ongoing pandemic.”
The funds will be used to add a new staff member who will provide training in the recently developed SEL curriculum. The added staff member will provide greater access and support to both students and staff.
Weymouth Public Schools applied for the grant this past spring with the intention of using the funds to continue to provide mental health support for students and families during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Supporting Students’ Behavioral and Mental Health and Wellness grant is provided by the Baker-Polito administration. The grant was designed to assist public school districts in improving student access to behavioral and mental health services by helping districts develop systems for student support.
The Baker-Polito administration awarded 39 communities with the grant to continue to improve behavioral and mental health support for students across the state.
“We are extremely honored and grateful to have received this grant from the Baker-Polito administration,” Superintendent Curtis-Whipple said. “These funds will help us to continue to develop our Social-Emotional Learning curriculum, which is an integral part of our students’ learning.”
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