Submitted by Jamie Ross
In a new initiative, all ILES Kindergarten students are going to Safety Town this year!
Russells Point Police Chief Joe Freyhof and ILES PhysEd teacher and bus driver Dan Young worked together over the past year to coordinate the curriculum and teach this important safety information to all Indian Lake kids of kindergarten age.
Chief Freyhof says in the past few years since the Covid-19 pandemic, Safety Town numbers in our area are dropping, but the training is critical.
“So our goal was to be all-inclusive to all kindergartners, so we have 90-to-100 kids getting Safety Town, not just 10-to-15…Over the course of the next two weeks, we’ll discuss everything from stranger danger to pedestrian safety, fire safety, bus safety, gun safety, and watercraft safety. We even talk about good touch/bad touch with Happy Bear from Logan County Children’s Services.”
Day one of Safety Town saw Chief Freyhof instruct students on stranger danger with a video and demonstrations.
As a teacher and bus driver, Mr. Young says since the Covid break, more and more young students need guidance on following directions and staying safe, especially en route to school.
“Getting this early in the year, knowing that kindergartners have that bus safety was really important and one of the key safety features.”
The program is a partnership between Indian Lake Schools, Russells Point Police, Washington Township Police, the Indian Joint Fire District, the Ohio Division of Natural Resources, and more.
ILES Safety Town will be taught each day over the next two weeks. There will be a graduation ceremony on September 26th.
