TUFTS DAILY: Medford Public Schools awarded $50,000 Hate Crime Prevention Grant

 

Medford Public Schools awarded $50,000 Hate Crime Prevention Grant

MADELINE WILSON

March 16, 2022   The Medford Public School District was recently awarded a competitive Hate Crime Prevention Grant by the State of Massachusetts. Medford Public Schools plans to use the $50,000 award, the maximum amount of funding available under the grant, to integrate restorative justice practices into the classroom.

According to Dr. Peter Cushing, assistant superintendent of Medford Public Schools, there have been a number of past cases in Medford schools that have raised concerns about the social and emotional health of students. In December, students staged a walkout at Medford High School in response to incidents of violence, and later that month, a “hate symbol” was found in the bathroom of another school in the district.

“Students had some real, valid concerns around a student-on-student incident that happened in school, and what that led to was us having conversations with students around how they feel their school is operating,” Cushing said. “Some of the comments students made … really raised my level of concern as a former principal, and I really felt that it was incumbent on us when this opportunity came forward to really try to get our students in a better place.”  https://tuftsdaily.com/news/2022/03/16/medford-public-schools-awarded-50000-hate-crime-prevention-grant/