Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski (WNG file photo)
WESTFIELD – Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski has announced that the district has been awarded a Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Intervention Program Grant in the amount of $17,394 from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Czaporowski said the grant exceeded their request for $15,000. He said the funds will be used to develop a school policy, and form a working committee to develop curriculum and provide professional training for staff.
The School Committee has started to look at developing a school policy. Czaporowski said not a lot of districts have them, so they have a small sample to look at. They will also look at protocols for reporting incidents, similar to ones that exist for bullying.
The district has hired Karen Lussier, a counselor and retired domestic violence advocate to help implement the program and train staff. Czaporowski said the grant will pay for three hours a week of Lussier’s time at each high school, and at the Pathways alternative high school program.
Lussier has already spent time in the schools on a volunteer basis, and did some presentations on the topic of teen violence, speaking to health classes in both high schools. She said the kids had a lot of questions, according to Czaporowski.
Going forward, Lussier will offer a combination of small group and individual counseling. “We’re pretty excited about that,” he said. She will also be presenting information to pre-k through grade 12 counselors in Professional Learning Committees, which meet once a month. Once school gets out, the district will continue to offer professional development to staff.
Lussier is working on the program in conjunction with school adjustment counselors Kristine Hupfer at WTA and Carrie Fiordalice at WHS. A working committee is also researching curriculum for Westfield Middle School and the high schools through the grant funding, as well as compiling local resources for victims of domestic violence.
“We understand that we have to come up with multiple ways for students to get support. If they meet with us, we can direct them to the resources. We just want to have the information available to people who want to get it,” Czaporowski said.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to do this, but we recognize there’s a need, and we want to do everything we can to meet that need,” he added.
