JCCS Receives $3 Million Partnership Program Grant

The San Diego County Office of Education’s Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) program was recently awarded a $3 million grant as part of the California Department of Education’s California Community Schools Partnership Program.

The three-year grant is designed to help community school programs strengthen their ability to coordinate and provide enhanced support services to students and families, including mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, improving school responsiveness to student and family needs, and organizing resources to address barriers to learning.

JCCS was one of only seven community school programs in the state to be awarded the full $3 million grant amount. It plans to use the funds to enhance JCCS's current community schools model, which provides services and approaches to support the whole learner. More specifically, funds will be used to increase parent involvement support, provide additional career technical education support to students and families, and provide coordination of tiered intervention supports.

“We’re honored to receive funding that supports our continued efforts to provide all of our students with targeted support where they need it most, and expand opportunities for them to develop work readiness skills and relationships that will help them be successful beyond school,” said Bruce Petersen, executive director, student services and programs. 

The grant was secured with assistance from SDCOE's Grants team, which helps all areas of the organization with grant procurement, customized support on evaluation and development of grant proposals, and targeted guidance to support grant maintenance and evaluation.