2021 Gang Prevention and Intervention Program Grant
Granite School District receives grant funding from the Utah State Board of Education to implement Gang Prevention and Intervention Programming (GPIP). Programming will be implemented at the following target schools: Kennedy Jr. High School, Kearns Jr. High School, Matheson Jr. High School, Granite Park Jr. High School, Jefferson Junior High School, Safe School Training Educational Placement (sSTEP), and Granite Alternative Placement Program (GAPP); as well as the Kearns network elementary schools. The GPIP includes the Choose Gang Free Program and Check & Connect Program.
Choose Gang Free Program
Granite School District collaborates with the Unified Police Department and Salt Lake Area Gang Project to implement the Choose Gang Free (CGF) program to Granite’s target schools. The CGF 5th grade prevention curriculum is taught by Granite Prevention Specialists. The purpose of this program is to educate youth on the realities of gang involvement and to empower them to engage with pro-social peers and extra-curricular activities; as well as develop a plan for dealing with negative peer pressure.
The CGF secondary intervention and secondary prevention services are facilitated by CGF Advocates who work full-time in target schools. The intended participants are students who exhibit risk factors for gang involvement. CGF Advocates will also work with students from the target schools if they are placed in either the sSTEP or GAPP locations.
For more information regarding Choose Gang Free, visit the website: www.choosegangfree.com.
Check & Connect Program
Check & Connect is an intervention used with K-12 students who show warning signs of disengagement with school and who are at risk of dropping out. At the core of Check & Connect is a trusting relationship between the student and a caring, trained mentor who both advocates for and challenges the student to keep education salient. Students are referred to Check & Connect when they show warning signs of disengaging from school, such as poor attendance, behavioral issues, and/or low grades.
In Check & Connect, the “Check” component refers to the process where mentors systematically monitor student performance variables (e.g., absences, tardies, behavioral referrals, grades), while the “Connect” component refers to mentors providing personalized, timely interventions to help students solve problems, build skills, and enhance competence. Mentors work with caseloads of students and families for at least two years, functioning as liaisons between home and school and striving to build constructive family-school relationships. Source: http://checkandconnect.umn.edu/model/default.html
Check & Connect services are facilitated by Granite School District Prevention Specialists. The intended participants are students who exhibit risk factors for gang involvement and are not participating in the CGF program. Check & Connect Mentors will also work with students from the target schools if they are placed in either the sSTEP or GAPP locations.
For more information regarding Check & Connect, visit the website: http://checkandconnect.umn.edu/
Counseling Services at sSTEP and YIC Transition Units
The sSTEP Licensed Clinical Social Worker provides guidance curriculum and individual and/or group counseling services related to Grief and Loss and Social/Emotional Management.
Referrals
Anyone (administrators, faculty/staff, parents, probation officers, etc.) can refer a student to the Choose Gang Free program. Once a student is referred to the program, CGF Advocates will follow the procedures for obtaining parent/legal guardian consent. Click HERE to make a referral to Choose Gang Free.
Choose Gang Free
Junior High Consent Forms
High School Consent Forms
Check & Connect
Junior High Consent Forms
High School Consent Forms
Parent-Guardian Granite Check & Connect Consent Form, Request for Release of Student Records and Permission to Survey
Stakeholder Feedback Link
The Gang Prevention and Intervention Program requests that stakeholders (administrators, advocates, faculty/staff, parents, and students) complete this survey monthly to help the program evaluate program efficiency. Completion of the survey is optional.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GSDGPIP
Pre/Post Survey (for students participating in any GSD Choose Gang Free or GSD Check & Connect)
After Advocates and Check and Connect Mentors receive the signed Parent-Guardian Consent Form/ Request for Release of Student Records, students will complete the Pre- Survey to provide data which will be used to assess program effectiveness, including but not limited to: Prevention Needs Assessment Survey (used to measure the factors that place students at risk for problem behaviors; the factors that protect students from problem behaviors; and basic demographics) and Youth Risk Behavior Survey (used to measure antisocial behaviors, health behaviors, and school safety). When students complete the program, they will complete a Post-Assessment Survey. The GSD GPIP Pre-Post Assessment can be previewed HERE.