“We set out to have this program not just as a summer program, but as a cohort of students who stick together,” Superintendent Verletta White said.
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Eighth graders who participated in Roanoke City Public Schools’ Community Builders pilot program over the summer are recording fewer absences and academic failures this year.
“This is a story tonight of promises made and promises kept, which is really important for us when it comes to preventing violence of any kind, but particularly gun violence,” city school Superintendent Verletta White told the city’s Gun Violence Prevention Commission Tuesday. “This initiative is a tangible way for us to meet young people right where they are and to make a difference.”
Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent Verletta White, right, Director of Community Engagement Chris Allder, center, and Coordinator of Youth Development and Intervention Josh Johnson share the results of last summer’s Community Builders program with members of the city’s Gun Violence Prevention Commission Tuesday evening at the Melrose Branch Library.
