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Leslie Jimpson, Project Coordinator
(518) 475-6545
ljimpson@albany.k12.ny.us
What is A-PLUS?
The Albany Partnership for Learning and
Uniting Services (A-PLUS) launched in 2009 and is funded by the
four-year federal Safe Schools-Healthy Students initiative. The program
is designed to improve academic outcomes by expanding high-quality
school and community-based services available to students and families
so that students in Albany may learn, live and
prosper in safe and supportive environments.
There are many components of A-PLUS that
are designed to enhance students' social and emotional growth, and
foster supportive and safe school environments. Every A-PLUS service is
evidence-based and delivered by a trained professional.
Check
out a video with staff and student interviews regarding A-PLUS and its
benefits.
In addition to the City School District
of Albany, the A-PLUS coalition of public and private agencies includes
the following organizations:
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Albany County
Department of Children, Youth and Families
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Albany County
Probation Department
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Albany County
System of Care
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Albany Police
Department
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City of Albany
Department of Youth and Workforce Services
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Committee for
Safe and Substance Free Schools
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Families
Together of Albany County
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Parsons Child
and Family Center
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University of
Albany School of Social Welfare
A-PLUS
health clinic
Many student and teacher support services
are through the A-PLUS health clinic located across from the main office
at North Albany Academy, 570 North Pearl St.
The A-PLUS clinic began operating in
February 2009 as the centerpiece of the Safe Schools-Healthy Students
initiative. The clinic is staffed by two full-time clinical social
workers, two behavior specialists and a clinic manager.
The Gang Resistance Education and
Training Program
Launched in the fall of 2009, the
Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program is a
school-based curriculum that is delivered to sixth-grade students in the
district's three middle schools through weekly classroom visits by law
enforcement officers.
Click on the highlighted text for a
fact sheet about Albany's GREAT program. You also can watch a
staff and student video about GREAT.
In other diverse urban communities, GREAT
has been shown to deter youth from delinquency, violence and gang
membership by building life skills such as problem solving, conflict
resolution, goal-setting and self control. By expanding and improving
the School Resource Officer program, students are allowed to interact
with police officers in a supportive, collaborative environment.
All officers currently working in
Albany's public schools have completed training as GREAT instructors.
For more information about the GREAT
program, please contact Albany Police Sgt. Jason Davis at
jdavis@albany-ny.org.
CrisisChat.org --
online emotional support
Questions?
The Center for Human Services Research at
the University of Albany is conducting a four-year evaluation of A-PLUS.
The center is a social-research organization that conducts program
evaluations and designs data systems to inform policymakers and service
providers about the design and delivery of effective services that
address social issues and meet community needs.
For more information about the center's
research, please contact Kenneth Robin, Ph.D., at 591-8797 or
krobin@uamail.albany.edu.
For more information about A-PLUS,
contact Project Coordinator Leslie Jimpson at 475-6545 or
ljimpson@albany.k12.ny.us.
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