PA CARES - UPCOMING BULLYING PREVENTION GRANT OPPORTUNITY

Online Application will be released on or before September 15, 2010

The Center for Safe Schools through a unique partnership with the Highmark Foundation, its Highmark Healthy High 5 Initiative, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, is pleased to announce an upcoming grant opportunity for schools that are interested in implementing the research-based Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP). PA CARES (Creating an Atmosphere of Respect and Environment for Success) helps schools implement the OBPP through the provision of intensive technical assistance, materials and limited grant funds.

An online application process will be launched in early September and a limited number of grants will be awarded on a rolling basis.

Grants will be awarded to:

Schools in districts located partly or wholly within the 49 Pennsylvania counties in the Highmark Foundation service region*.
Schools within districts that have not participated in the Highmark Foundation funded HALT! or PA CARES bullying prevention initiatives.
Elementary, middle or junior high schools
Public and nonpublic schools
Schools that have not implemented the Olweus program in the past or that implemented the OBPP prior to 2006

To apply:

Check this site often for further announcements. The online application will be released on or before September 15, 2010.

Access and review the online Olweus Readiness Assessment Tool available on the Olweus website.

Prepare for the application process by completing the online Preventing School Violence Readiness Series available at http://fm.center-school.org/moodle/. Completion of this series by a member of the school’s leadership or faculty is a precondition of application.

*Counties located within the Highmark Foundation service region include: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland, York.

Readiness Series

The Center for Safe Schools, through funding provided by Highmark Healthy High 5, an initiative of the Highmark Foundation, announces the availability of the Readiness Series to Implement Comprehensive School Violence Programs online course.

This course has been developed to provide individuals, school teams and districts with an overview of research findings and tools to help determine readiness for successful implementation and sustainability of comprehensive violence prevention programs. Examining needs, organizational structures and capacities, existing policies, overall climate and existing resources are all essential steps to be taken prior to selecting a systems-wide approach to improving school climate. Upon completion of this series, users will have a more in depth understanding of the necessity of attending to elements of readiness as part of ongoing school safety planning and youth violence prevention programming.

The Readiness Series is relevant to potential grant applicants, particularly those who may wish to apply for bullying prevention funding as part of the PA CARES initiative. The PA CARES (Creating an Atmosphere of Respect and Environment for Success) initiative, funded by the Highmark Foundation’s Healthy High 5 Initiative, offers schools within Highmark service regions the opportunity to apply for a mini-grant to implement the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP). Completion of the Readiness Series is a requirement of the PA CARES application process. A grant announcement for PA CARES Cohort 3 is expected to be released in late September 2009. School representatives are encouraged to complete the Readiness Series in advance of the application process.

The Readiness Series can be accessed by clicking here.