By Heather McGinley

Staff Writer

The Suffolk School Board voted unanimously on Thursday to support a couple of initiatives designed to reduce teen violence and improve the academic performance of athletes.

The School Board’s vote supports efforts by the recently formed Community Action Coalition to obtain a grant that would pay for a Coaches in the Classroom program aimed at athletes in the city’s three public high schools and a “Be Fight Free Rally & Campaign,” whose aim would be to increase public awareness of the problem of youth violence.

Both programs are a result of several months’ worth of meetings between members of the community and school and city officials. The coalition had its roots in an August community meeting in which scores of Suffolk residents registered their alarm about youth violence following the Aug. 1 shooting death of TyQuan Lewis, who would have been a senior at Lakeland High School this year.

“The coalition was formed to take action,” said Bob Stephens, who has been instrumental in moving the group’s agenda forward since that August meeting. “It will change the course of youth violence, and it is the best gift that we can give our youth this holiday season.”

For Stephens and other members of the coalition, the School Board vote on Thursday is just the beginning. The group will encourage students to take responsibility for their actions and will strive to help create a safe and nurturing educational environment, he said.

Stephens said he hopes the “Be Fight Free” program will “prevent incidents from occurring by changing behavior.”

“This is an investment from which I believe we can expect huge returns,” he added.