Joy Grimes

“Topeka Public Schools (TPS) will addresses the challenges secondary students face when they are released from the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) by targeting social and emotional learning (SEL) coupled with adult mentorship through community partnerships. The Family Peace Initiative and One Heart Project have been utilized with students incarcerated in Shawnee County but the services were dropped when they were released and the progress in SEL was not sufficient to keep students from returning to jail. 60 percent of TPS students released from JDC have returned within one year which is double the national average of around 30 percent recidivism rate for juvenile offenders. The NoVo Foundation will enable TPS to continue those services in the public school setting in order to reduce the recidivism rate and promote student success.”