East Boston Classes Graduate Anti-Violence Program

BOSTON, MA - Two East Boston middle school classes were honored Monday after graduating from anti-violence training.

Suffolk prosecutors and city officials recognized a pair of seventh grade classes at Mario Umana Academy for completing 'Overcoming Violence', a program offered by Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office.

"Some of the most important work we do as prosecutors takes place in classrooms, not courtrooms," Conley said at a 'graduation' ceremony Monday. "The kids who completed this program today will be leaders tomorrow, and they're going to carry the message of positive choices to the next generation."

The six-week program uses an interview documentary, site visits, group discussions, and guest speakers – including Suffolk prosecutors and victim-witness advocates, police officers, and corrections officers – to educate students on violence and its long-term impact the root causes of violence as well as the long-term consequences of both positive and negative decisions.

Two 15-year-old boys were fatally stabbed in East Boston in September, making it a place officials wanted to implement the program. Three seventh grade classes at Umana Academy have graduated from the program; Conley’s staff will present the program to all of the school’s seventh grade classes before the end of the school year.