Elevate Rural Florida
 is a
2019 School Climate Transformation Grant (SCTG 2019)
provided through
The U.S. Department of Education
and
The Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC)

Gadsden County School District (GCSD)

PAEC and the GCSD were awarded the 2019 School Climate Transformation Grant by the US Department of Education. This discretionary grant is for $3.5M over 5 years and benefits the students and teachers of Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, and Taylor School Districts.

Grant Objectives

School climate plays a critical role in the potential success and school experiences of a student. Students who learn in positive learning environments are more likely to improve academically, participate more fully in the classroom, and develop skills that will help them be successful in school and in life. Recent studies on school climate have focused on the many different elements and indicators of the overall quality of a school's climate, and its relationship to academic and behavioral outcomes.

This 5-year, $3.5M grant will service Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, and Taylor School Districts. Over the course of the five-year project period, it will serve 700 instructional and leadership staff and impact the lives of over 13,000 K-12 students. The project will integrate evidence-based solutions for implementing and enhancing MTSS with restorative, equity-focused, and culturally responsive practices to achieve three primary goals:

1. Improve school climate through enhanced quality, fidelity, and consistency of MTSS implementation;
2. Reduce inequities, including racial, socio-economic, and other high-need student disparities in discipline and academic performance, through tiered implementation of culturally responsive evidence-based practices; and
3. Develop sustainability through family engagement and community partnerships.

Project activities include: Providing staff with professional development (PD) and technical assistance in implementing Multi-Tiered Support Systems (MTSS) with fidelity; Facilitating job-embedded Professional Development, coaching, and regional Professional Learning Communities for implementing evidence-based practices, including restorative justice and social-emotional learning; Hiring regional, cross-district mental health specialists to support expanded school mental health, safety, and substance abuse prevention activities; Integrating academic, behavioral, and social-emotional data for problem-solving and decision-making; and strengthening connections between schools, families, and community service agencies.

The project is designed to achieve the following intended outcomes: increased MTSS fidelity and consistency; increased student, educator, and family engagement; decreased disciplinary referrals, suspensions, and expulsions (including those related to drugs and alcohol); decreased rates of student substance abuse, depression, and anxiety; improved academic performance; decreased subgroup disparity in discipline and achievement; and improved school climate at the targeted high-need schools outlined below: