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Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to launch pilot program to help prevent youth violence

Members of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education review a recommendation from Superintendent Tricia McManus to approve using federal ESSER dollars for a new pilot mentoring program during a meeting held on on December 7, 2021. KERI BROWN/WFDD

A new initiative will soon be in several Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to help curb youth violence. The school board recently approved allocating $1.4 million in federal pandemic relief money to start the program.

District leaders say the impact of the pandemic is bigger than what they could have imagined. From learning loss to mental health and social-emotional wellbeing, all of this has manifested into negative behaviors in schools. At a recent board of education meeting, teachers voiced their concerns about an uptick in violence and fighting among students.

The pilot program aims to keep violence and gang activity from spilling into schools.

The nonprofit Action4Equity will oversee the initiative, working with several community partners. Those groups will receive training and use their experiences to serve as mentors for students. They will also work with families outside of the school setting.

Philo-Hill Magnet Acadamy, Paisley IB School, Parkland High School, and Reynolds High School were chosen to start the program.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus says this is something different and she believes it will be a gamechanger for many students.

“A lot of mentors stop by a school, visit for 30 minutes and they leave," says McManus. "And the kids that see [them] are excited to see them and they leave. Not these mentors. They will be in the schools and the community full time.”  

Schools are working to identify at-risk students to participate in the 10-month program. These kids will meet with their mentors in January.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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