Schumer Announces Over $399,000 For Greece Central School District

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Greece Central School District will receive $399,374 in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Educations Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Demonstration Program. The grant will be used to support counseling programs in target elementary schools.

Our children deserve the resources they need to excel in school, Schumer said. It is essential they have access to counseling and developmental programs and experts they can trust. This funding will help schools in Greece to provide their students with the tools and opportunities to gain more from their education and build a foundation for a lifetime of success.

The Greece Central School District will use the federal dollars to expand their counseling programs through hiring social workers, counselors and psychiatrists. With the new personnel, the schools will expand the availability, quality and quantity of available counseling services. The programs will use a developmental, prevention approach and will be designed and applied with the participation of parents of the students.

The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program is an initiative from the U.S. Department of Education. The program provides support to local educational agencies to establish or expand elementary and secondary school counseling programs. To achieve program goals and address the Government Performance and Results Act measures, the schools will attend to the ratio of student to mental health professional, and will reduce the number of disciplinary referrals and suspensions among participating students. Local schools have identified other specific goals that include improved student attendance and academic performance, social skills development, parental involvement, counselor and teacher professional development, and collaboration with community based organizations that provide mental health and other services to students.