Darleene Barrientos
The Glendale Unified School District has received a $1 million
federal grant to improve U.S. history instruction for fourth-, fifth-
and sixth-grade students.
District officials learned of the award this month. School board
members are expected to approve the grant during their next meeting
Aug. 17.
The U.S. Department of Education issued the grant through the
Teaching American History Grant Program. This year's round of funding
is the second time Glendale's public schools received the grant. The
district received $1 million three years ago to further train high
school educators in teaching U.S. history.
"The new grant is for grade levels where American history is
taught in elementary school," district spokesman Joel Shapiro said.
Teachers in the district's 12 elementary schools and four middle
schools will be involved in the training to improve U.S. history
instruction. District officials plan to boost the knowledge of
educators and train them on specific topics, such as the Declaration
of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Issues like immigration and
the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II will be
further incorporated into the curriculum.
Board members on Tuesday also approved receiving a $316,625 grant
from the Office of the Attorney General's Crime and Violence
Prevention Center. The district will initially receive $50,000 and
the rest will come over a three-year period.
Most of the award will pay for Glendale High School's second
school resource officer. It costs about $100,000 a year to have a
Glendale Police officer dedicated to a campus. There is one school
resource officer at each of the district's four middle schools, and
Glendale and Hoover high schools have two officers each.
School resource officers are sworn members of the Glendale Police
Department who work with school staff and administrators to provide
security and enforce safety on school campuses. Glendale Police
school resource officers James Trudeau and James Granados are
assigned to Glendale High full time. The school is at 1440 E.
Broadway.
The rest of the money will help launch the second phase of the
school's "Help-A-Friend" program, bringing it to the rest of the
district's elementary, middle and high schools.
The "Help-A-Friend" program provides help for students having
social or academic problems.
