Atlanta gets $7.5 million grant to improve school safety

The federal government will spend $7.5 million over the next five years on an effort to improve school safety in the Atlanta school system, officials announced Monday.

The research will be led by WestEd, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve education for children and adults. WestEd has offices in Atlanta and 17 other cities across the country. Georgia State University researchers will also be involved in the work, officials said. The work is being funded by a National Institute of Justice grant.

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said she was excited about the partnership.

“The research, the data and tools that we will yield from this grant will address a variety of safety measures from student behavior improvements, emergency preparedness, school policing, community engagement and much more,” she said in a statement.

State data show the top disciplinary problems in the Atlanta school system — which has about 50,000 students — are fighting, disorderly conduct and dress code violations.

The research is scheduled to start in January.

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