Hardin County Schools will use a $1 million grant from the Defense Department to bolster dropout prevention efforts. The grant announced Thursday in Elizabethtown will pay for counseling programs for at-risk students, extended school services, and random drug testing at the district’s alternative school for troubled students.
Hardin County Schools dropout prevention coordinator Bob King says the Defense Department money will also help students who have parents in the active duty military.
“These students are struggling because of the increased deployment times, and sometimes both of their parents are deployed, and the kids struggle with how to act while coping with the fear of loss,” says King.
To qualify for the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity grant, school systems must have a minimum amount of students whose parents are either in the active duty military of civil service. Many Hardin County schools students have parents who work at nearby Fort Knox.
