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By Kimberly Beltran
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Eleven California districts are among 35 from across the country receiving grants under a $12.3 million U.S. Department of Education program designed to support or expand counseling services in elementary schools.
Three other California districts have been named recipients of a separate Department of Defense grant aimed at promoting science, technology, engineering and math – as well as foreign language – curriculum in public schools serving military children.
In all, the 14 districts will receive a total of nearly $7.5 million for academic and support programs.
“School counselors serve a critical role in ensuring that students are safe,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement issued late last week announcing winners of the counseling grants. “These grants will enhance school-based counseling programs, which have proven to be a great source of help for students with mental-health issues.”
The Department of Education grants will enable the winning schools to hire “qualified mental-health professionals” with the goal of expanding the range, availability, quantity and quality of counseling services, the statement said.
Faced with limited resources, especially during the last five years of significant budget cuts, school districts across the state have eliminated many student support programs and personnel, including counselors and psychologists.
The Cajon Valley Union School District plans to use its $399,304 grant to hire three full-time counselors and one half-time for its eight elementary schools, which currently have no counselors, according to middle school counselorMadalyn Brion-Reed.
The other 10 districts earning counseling grants are Alhambra, Cutler-Orosi, Desert Sands, Earlimart, Elk Grove, Montebello, Mountain, Sierra Sands, Summerville and Willits. The awards ranged from $200,000 to $399,304.
The funds may also be used to support parent involvement, counselor and teacher professional development, and
Gov. Jerry Brown shot down Monday widely embraced legislation that would have allowed local educational agencies to award performance certificates to students who met specific benchmarks in career technical education.