Beloit School District secures multiple grants for substance‑use prevention, recovery planning, health services and safety kits

Pupil services staff presented a summary of grants awarded or applied for in 2024–25, saying the funds will support family‑engaged prevention work, planning for a recovery high school, nursing access and in‑school emergency care.

Melissa Beavers, who introduced the district’s pupil services update on June 17, said the district received a $50,000 opioid prevention grant from the state Department of Public Instruction to fund the Strengthening Families program, an evidence‑based family program that pairs parent lessons with youth social‑emotional learning and joint family practice time. "It's a family based program with parent and youth lessons taught simultaneously," Beavers said; the district expects to train about 20 staff as facilitators and launch sessions in September or October.

Recovery high school planning: Beavers and Eric Weir said the district received a $75,000 planning grant under Wisconsin Act 72 to work with the Association of Recovery Schools on developing a recovery high school model. The district also applied for a second planning round ($100,000) and anticipates later summer award notices.

Other awards and purchases: Ryan Turner, district safety and security coordinator, said a $1,800 community grant funded 10 Stop the Bleed kits to be installed across district buildings with staff training planned for the fall. Michelle Louis, director of school health, described a tele‑nursing arrangement with Bellin Health to provide remote nursing access and a stock short‑acting bronchodilator program funded by a separate award to keep rescue inhalers available in school health offices.

Smaller awards and pending applications: Beavers said a $600 Stateline Community Foundation grant will underwrite postsecondary site visits for students with disabilities. The district also applied for a state alcohol and other drug abuse grant (up to $50,000 contingent on the biennial budget) and a $37,955 transition readiness grant to fund driver’s education and licensing fees for up to 30 students with IEPs; that award notification was expected in July. Beavers corrected a previously misstated date and said the anticipated award notification for the transition readiness grant is July 2025.

Why it matters: district staff tied the grants to aims discussed elsewhere at the meeting — supporting transitions for students with disabilities, expanding on‑site health services to keep students in class, and preparing a recovery pathway that would allow students with substance‑use needs to remain in school while receiving intensive supports.

Next steps: staff plan to train 20 strengthening families facilitators in August, install Stop the Bleed kits over the summer, launch tele‑nursing and stocking inhalers with medical advisor protocols, and continue planning for the recovery school and transition programming pending grant awards.