Grant should make West Greene Schools safer
For the past several years, the West Greene School District has recognized the need for a school resource officer. Unfortunately, due to the added cost, the district was unable to fill the position — until now.
Thanks to a $180,000 grant from Consol Energy, a new resource officer is now on board, helping to secure the learning environment from possible incidents that have plagued other schools and work places across the nation in recent years.
On the job since July 1, former Secret Service agent and Waynesburg native, Jared Edgreen was officially sworn in by Judge Farley Toothman on Aug. 1.
Edgreen’s duties involve reading the school’s security handbook and making meaningful changes that will help keep both student and faculty safer at both the elementary and senior high schools.
The changes will go into effect on August 21, when the teachers return from summer vacation. The following day, Edgreen will go through the emergency response procedures with the teachers. This includes lock down and a multitude of other safety procedures.
“Edgreen will have a broad spectrum of duties, and his presence will be noted throughout the entire school district when the students return for their first day of school on August 27,” said Jed Hamberger, the district’s K-12 academic director.
The Consol Energy grant will cover Edgreen’s $50,000 annual salary for three years plus ancillary costs accrued to the district.
A school grant writing team consisting of Hamberger and teachers Melissa Ullom and Eric Armstrong began the grant application process on March 12 when they conferred with Zachary Smith, Consol Energy’s manager of external affairs.
“Applying for a grant is a lengthy process,” Ullom said. “You have to identify a need, figure out why it exists, do a lot of research and writing and answer any questions the grantor might have in a way that demonstrates your need.”
With the funds now in place to finance the position of school resource officer, the grant writing team submitted another application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for multiple pieces of equipment that will make the school even more safe for the students and teachers.
The team submitted the grant application for the maximum of $25,000 on August 1. The request was for equipment that will be used for ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate) drills for active shooter/civilian response training.
“We expect to be notified [of the decision] sometime in September,” Hamberger said. “If the grant is approved, we will begin to purchase the equipment immediately. All allocated funds must be spent by June of 2019.”
Over the past three years, the West Greene School District has received close to $450,000 in grants from a wide spectrum of foundations, non-profit organizations and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
This includes a grant from the Staunton Farm Foundation of Pittsburgh to fund a peer mentoring program, which pairs a high school student with a middle school student. In the relationship, the high schooler is reported to be just as much a life coach as he or she is an academic coach
Since the program was implemented, Hamberger reports a decrease in disciplinary issues, an increase in attendance and an improvement in overall grades.
“Having a resource officer in school is something we’ve been hoping for for quite a while,” Hamberger said. “Thanks to Consol Energy, we now have the ability to hire one, thereby making everyone in the school district that much safer.”