Preventing Violence and Improving School Climate within Bridgeport Public Schools

The proposed project, led by LifeBridge Community Services (LifeBridge), a nonprofit organization with extensive experience serving the community of Bridgeport, Connecticut, aims to prevent violence and improve school climate in Bridgeport Public Schools by promoting trauma-informed practices, social-emotional learning (SEL) programming, and increased access to mental health services.

Located in Fairfield County, the significant needs of Bridgeport stem from long-standing and systemic factors such as historical trauma, the prevalence of violence, and educational and economic inequality. While the average poverty rate across Fairfield County is only 2%, Bridgeport’s poverty rate is 21%, with one in three children living in poverty. While 59.8% of Fairfield County residents are White, over 80% of Bridgeport’s population is non-White. Bridgeport's violent crime is 75% higher than the national average, and the city records the highest number of family homicide victims in the state. In addition to violence and safety, accessing mental health services has emerged as one of the top issues of greatest concern in the region.

Statewide, Bridgeport Public Schools is one of three districts with the lowest student achievement levels. The pandemic exacerbated student behavioral issues: Weapon incidents increased 78.8%, and physical and verbal confrontations increased 37.7%. Bridgeport youth grow up facing significant challenges with increased exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—various forms of physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and community and household dysfunction. Studies document the relationship between ACEs and a wide range of antisocial behaviors, including violent delinquent behavior and life-course offending.

Over this three-year project, LifeBridge will partner with Bridgeport Public Schools to implement three complementary activities developed in alignment with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s Trauma-Informed Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework.

Universal: Train 165 school personnel district-wide to better support students using the Community Resiliency Model to increase their understanding of ACEs and their impact on behavior and learning skills to soothe rather than escalate strong emotions and challenging situations.

Targeted: Implement School-Connect SEL curriculum to reach 1,000 students at three of the district’s largest high schools to achieve a 20% improvement in students’ ability to handle frustration and stress and reduce suspension/expulsions rates by 10%.

Intensive: Provide individualized support to 180 students with higher needs, using therapeutic counseling to achieve 10% improvement in student functioning (e.g., handling daily life, ability to cope), social connectedness, and 20% demonstrated improvement in resilience.