Fayetteville City Schools is one of 18 schools in the state of Tennessee to receive funding to support the Stronger Connections Grant, a competitive grant to support safer and healthier learning environments. 

This grant is also intended to prevent and respond to acts of bullying, violence, and hate that impact school communities at individual and systemic levels, among other programs and activities, said Dr. Claudia Styles, supervisor with Fayetteville City Schools who wrote the grant.

“Fayetteville City Schools was awarded $1,105,338 over a three-year period to support the areas of mental health and the social emotional learning, as well as initiatives designed to improve school climate and culture within our schools,” said Styles. 

Three social workers – Jennifer Taylor, Candace Poliquin and E’Sheia Hicks – were hired to support each of the schools in the district, Styles said. 

During teacher in-service, the counselors, social workers, and nurses met in their collaborative teams to share best practices and make plans for the 2023-24 school year to assist students and their families.

Fayetteville City Schools is one of 18 schools in the state of Tennessee to receive funding to support the Stronger Connections Grant to support safer and healthier learning environments.  Three social workers have been hired through the grant to support each of the schools. Pictured here are (from left) Jennifer Taylor, Ralph Askins School; E’Sheia Hicks, Fayetteville Middle School; and Candace Poliquin, Fayetteville High School.