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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications
415-554-6131
*** PRESS RELEASE ***
MAYOR NEWSOM ANNOUNCES NEW FUNDING FOR TRUANCY ABATEMENT IN SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOLS
San Francisco, CA—Flanked by a handful of San Francisco’s public safety officials, Mayor Newsom today announced a collaborative effort between the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF) to secure $451,000 for truancy abatement at several San Francisco schools. Four schools - Thurgood Marshall High School, International Studies Academy High School, Galileo High School and Horace Mann Middle School - were selected as the grant recipients for the one year pilot program.
“This grant will allow us to identify twenty five students at each school site who are determined to be at high risk of delinquent behavior, poor attendance, low GPA, failing classes and that show repeated referrals for disciplinary action,” said Mayor Newsom.
The funds will be used to hire a Truancy Abatement Project Manager and four Intervention Specialists, who are to provide intensive support, wraparound services, mentorship, and more intense and frequent supervision for these at-risk students. Truancy abatement was one of the issues Mayor Newsom pledged to confront in his 2005 State of the City Address.
Alongside the Mayor were District Attorney Kamala Harris, Lieutenant Colleen Fatooh of the San Francisco Police Department Youth Services Unit, Superintendent Gwen Chan of the San Francisco Unified School District, Keith Choy of the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, Hydra Mendoza, the Mayor’s Education Liaison, Allen Nance of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Bill Siffermann of the Juvenile Probation Department.
The Federal grant of $225,500 is awarded to the San Francisco Police Department by the U.S. Department of Justice and comes with a required city match of $225,500 of city funds, through the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families.
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