An arm of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s office launched its school violence reduction program on Tuesday, using new grant funds to bring a two-year-old initiative to fruition.

Known as the School-Based Violence Intervention Program, the program allocates $1.01 million in grant funds to tackle violence and promote healthier conflict resolution skills at four Baltimore high schools: Carver Vocational-Technical, Digital Harbor, Edmondson-Westside and Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical.

The three grants paving the way for the program came from community partners Wells Fargo ($700,000) and the Casino Local Impact Fund ($130,000), as well as the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance ($180,000).

“When we say it takes all of us to end violence in our city, we have to include Baltimore’s young people,” Stefanie Mavronis, director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, said at Tuesday’s news conference at Carver.

Scott — who was absent Tuesday due to illness — initially proposed the program in 2022 for three high schools, but it didn’t get off the ground.

Edmondson-Westside was added to the program following the 2023 fatal shooting of a 16-year-old student at nearby Edmondson Village Shopping Center, according to a MONSE spokesman.

City officials say fostering social development skills in a school setting can reduce similar incidents in the future.

“We have got to teach our young people the skills of conflict resolution, the skills of restorative practices,” said Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen. “To have men and women modeling for them … what it means to stand tall in your identity no matter what is, is so critically important.”

Since Scott took office, gun violence in Baltimore has rapidly declined. The mayor in November said homicides were down 24% and non-fatal shootings were down 34% compared to the same time last year. Fewer teenagers were shot in the city during the first half of 2024 than any in recent history.

“We’re not a city in crisis. We’re a city on the move. We’re a city that’s going to be great,” said District 8 Councilman Paris Gray. “And we’re going to do this together.”

According to Mavronis, the program seeks to cultivate a sense of community by enlisting eight students as designated ambassadors in each high school. These students will aid Movement Team professionals in outreach efforts to identify and ultimately resolve potential conflicts before escalation, Mavronis said.

“Starting in January, we’ll be pairing eight student ambassadors per school — two for each grade level — with our community-based partners to assist in implementation, serve as credible messengers with their peers and help drive this work,” Mavronis said.

Citing statistics obtained from Digital Harbor Principal Mavis Jackson, District 11 Councilman Zac Blanchard said the implementation of three Movement Team staffers there has reduced the number of student suspensions from 99 at this point last school year to 67 this year — a key measure in deciding the future of so-called “pilot program” once grant funds dry up in 2026.

Asked how the program can address concerns of chronically absent students who fear violence on their school commutes, District 14 Councilwoman Odette Ramos — whose district includes Mervo — pointed to Scott’s Safe Passage Initiative.

“It’s not a security team, but it’s people saying, ‘Welcome. We really want you to be here,’” Ramos said of the Safe Passage Initiative, saying it has helped some students feel safer on the way home from Mervo.

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