Disrupting School Violence through Alternative High School Settings

Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) in Lancaster County, Nebraska will work to improve school safety for high school students in alternative school settings by providing them with the tools they need to be successful. This will be accomplished through three activities: (1) implementing evidence-based solutions, including intensive case management, school-based therapy, and the provision of several evidence-based therapeutic interventions with students (Aggression Replacement Therapy, Seeking Safety, and Teen Intervene) to increase attachment, self-regulation, coping skills, and mental health, and reduce substance use; (2) enhancing partnerships between LPS, Lincoln Police Department and community-based behavioral health organizations to provide individualized supports to students at risk of gang involvement and mental health struggles; and (3) expanding opportunities for family engagement with LPS to mutually address risk factors for violence by engaging parents and students in an advisory committee to oversee the project. The school district will hire support personnel to work with approximately 40 families per year who have a high school student assigned to its Student Support Program due to suspension or expulsion, and approximately 150 students in the Student Support Program who will receive additional behavioral and social-emotional support as they participate in alternative programs and prepare to return to their home school.