FY 2008 G.R.E.A.T. Program

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a life-skills competency program designed to provide students with the skills they need to avoid gang pressure and youth violence. G.R.E.A.T.'s violence prevention curricula help students develop values and practice behaviors that will help them avoid destructive activities. G.R.E.A.T. program staff coordinate project activities with federal, regional, state, and local agencies, as well as individuals from community and civic groups. The goal of the program is to train criminal justice professionals to deliver a school-based curriculum that teaches life-skills competencies, gang awareness, and violence-avoidance techniques.

Clayton County Public Schools will use the grant funds to provide the elementary, middle school, families, and summer components to approximately 6,255 students attending 16 elementary schools and all the middle schools in the county. High-risk students referred by school officials, school counselors, parents, police, social workers, and probation officers will be selected for participation in a special preventative outreach and after school program. It is anticipated that the G.R.E.A.T. curriculum will assist the school district in creating safe school environments by producing positive attitudes that will return the school to a safe haven for learning, achieving, and helping students acquire the skills necessary to become productive adults.

CA/NCF