City of Richmond Targeted High Risk Youth Achievement Program. George Wythe High School - A Violence Free Zone

The OJJDP FY 10 Earmarks Program furthers the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Conference Report to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117), H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-366 at 702-714.

The specific purpose of the Violence-Free Zone (VFZ) initiative is to prevent and reduce youth violence and make George Wythe High School safe for learning. The VFZ will serve those high school students at George Wythe who are under the age of 18 and who have been referred by teachers and administrative staff, school security and school resource officers, and other in school service providers such as Communities in Schools because of disruptive behavior that included violence or the possibility for violent activities. The VFZ initiative seeks to work with 10%-15% of the school's 1,200 students enrolled at George Wythe. Currently, there are about 160 youth being served under the VFZ initiative. The VFZ will challenge young people's offending behavior and help them redirect their lives into positive directions. The initiative will also address changing the negative culture and motivating the community, school officials, local government, law enforcement, business leaders and others to become active participants in the campaign to support youth. VFZ hires Youth Advisors who act as hall monitors, mediators, character coaches and moral mentors to high risk students in the school. Activities include case management, tutoring, positive youth group activities and community service projects. Short term outcomes include reaching 175 youth who will demonstrate improvements in academic standing and positive change in their attitudes towards learning by 50%; while long term outcomes will seek to ensure that 60% of program participants graduate. NCA/NCF