As schools across the United States work to mitigate the impact of violence within their communities and establish school-based prevention programs, many seek assistance from federal grants. One such grant is the Department of Education’s Project Prevent grant, which awarded a third cohort in 2022 with funds to increase their capacity to identify, assess, and serve students exposed to pervasive violence, help to ensure that affected students are offered mental health services for trauma or anxiety; support conflict resolution programs; and implement other school–based violence prevention strategies in order to reduce the likelihood that these students will later commit violent acts. One grantee from this cohort is NCSSLE’s Scotland County School System in North Carolina.

On this episode of “In Session,” we speak with Dr. Patricia McLean, Project Director of Scotland County’s Project Prevent program, about her reflections on year one of the grant. Dr. McLean reflects on challenges she and her team overcame, her most proud accomplishment with the grant, and shares many words of wisdom collected along the way.

0:55 - Introduction & Background
4:00 - Why Scotland County Applied for the P2C3 Grant
6:00 - Challenges With Staffing
7:11 - Biggest Accomplishment
8:23 - Lessons Learned & Advice for New Project Directors
16:26 - Plans for Next Year
18:30 - Closing

For all questions or feedback, you can email ncssle@air.org. Thanks for listening!

Please note, the contents of this podcast do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education, nor does it imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education.