Tredyffrin/Easttown Schools Get $480K For Safety Enhancements

BERWYN, PA — Millions in grant funding was awarded to Chester County school districts for school safety and security enhancements from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District got a large cut of the funding.

Chester County’s Democratic state Reps. Carolyn Comitta, Kristine Howard, Dan Williams and Melissa Shusterman announced the grant disbursement Wednesday.

Tredyffrin/Easttown School District got $480,065 in the funds.

Nearby, Great Valley School District got $244,660.

Overall, the commission gave $53.7 million in school safety and security grants to 524 school entities, as well as $7.5 million in community violence prevention/reduction grants to 30 organizations throughout the Pennsylvania.

Schools were eligible to apply for programs designed to reduce community violence, including increasing access to trauma-informed support services and behavioral health care, providing health services and intervention strategies, providing mentoring and other intervention models, and fostering communication between school entities, their community and law enforcement.

Projects were required to support initiatives such as performing school safety assessments; purchasing security-related technology and equipment; supporting school safety-related and behavioral-health trainings; preparing all-hazards plans; hiring school resource officers, school police officers, school counselors, social workers and school psychologists; and providing for trauma-informed approaches to education.

"I am thankful for these funds that will go directly to support and protect Chester County students. It is our duty to make sure we are creating a safe and healthy school environment for our students to prosper," Comitta said.

"As a former child welfare investigator, ensuring the safety of our community’s children has always been a top priority of mine," Howard said. "A safe learning environment is a productive learning environment, and I thank the Wolf administration for prioritizing our commonwealth’s students, their safety and ultimately their success."

Schools should always be a safe space for students to learn and grow. By addressing issues at the ground level through behavioral health and support services, in addition to greater cooperation between schools, communities, and law enforcement agencies, our children will always be able to thrive," Williams said. "My thanks to the Commission on Crime & Delinquency for these grants to my district."

"The safety of our children is a paramount issue," Shusterman said. "I am pleased by the PCCD’s decision to approve $53.7 million in safety grants for schools and look forward to seeing continuing efforts to curb community violence across the state."