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Columbus City Schools receives $1.7 million grant for restorative practices

The school district is using the money for restorative practices, including mental health training and attendance.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus City school district has received a grant for $1.7 million from the state of Ohio in order to improve various restorative practices.

“We currently have about 20 restorative practice trained trainers in our district. We are looking to make sure we have one in every school building as we go forward,” said Elizabeth McNally, interim executive director of whole child support for Columbus City Schools.

McNally said restorative practice is about training teachers and staff to interact with students better who are going through a hard time. 

“We know that so many of our students have increased stress levels, increased anxiety, increased disruptions in behavioral regulation especially after the pandemic,” said McNally. 

She said they want teachers to train students how to deal with those difficult emotions. 

“It’s really about how we are interacting and creating relationships with our learners and helping build their skill sets and ability to regulate their stress levels. To handle feelings of being overwhelmed, to handle feelings of frustration in a productive way,” said McNally. 

She said things like anxiety and stress take kids out of the classroom mentally and sometimes physically. 

“We want them to have a better ability to handle stress, frustration and anxiety as it comes up,” said McNally. 

The district is also using the money to expand its attendance team. 

“Going to different community events and raise awareness on education around attendance. Which is just critical, just missing 2 days a month of school can cause your kid to be chronically absent,” said Tyree Pollard, director of attendance for Columbus City Schools. 

 Pollard said their goal is to encourage kids to stay in the classroom. 

“In order for them to reach the students to hit the goals we look to hit academically, socially, or emotionally, we need to have students present every day,” said Pollard. 

 

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