Risk Watch Pilot Program Teaches Kids How To Be Safe

Deer Park soon may be overrun with a group of young police officer-wannabes.

After one of Spokane’s finest visited Deer Park Elementary School, first-and-second grade teacher Beth Phillips said her students couldn’t talk of much else.

“It really sparked their interest,” she said. “We sent home a survey and the parents said how impressed their kids were with the policeman.”

The officer visited as part of the Risk Watch pilot program, held in 10 Deer Park and 10 Riverside elementary classrooms earlier this year. The combined districts were one of 20 communities to receive a national $10,000 grant to pilot Risk Watch.

The two-year-old safety program, developed in part by the National Fire Protection Association, aims to educate students in the eight major risk areas that kill or injure the most children each year: motor vehicle crashes; fires and burns; choking, suffocation and strangulation; poisoning; falls; unintentional firearms accidents; bike and pedestrian hazards; and water hazards.

Injuries are the number one health risk for children under the age of 14, according to the agency.

Officials say an important part of Risk Watch is cooperation among the school districts, Spokane County Fire District 4 and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Members of organizations that have information to deliver to the schools - like the Spokane Regional Health District and the drowning prevention coalition - also become part of the teaching team.

After teachers present the unit on fires and burns, for example, members of the Fire Department will visit each class. They’ll supplement the lesson with real-life stories and props.

“Safety professionals can bring in helmets or car seats and share things teachers typically wouldn’t know,” said Marc Thornton, firefighter and community education specialist for Spokane County Fire District 4. “As presenters, we don’t have to try to be teachers. We can just speak to the areas of expertise we have.”

Phillips said that made a big impact on her students.

“The kids really enjoyed what we were teaching and the interaction” with safety professionals, she said. “They lended a lot of authenticity to the program.”

Deer Park Elementary Principal Michele Kent said the safety curriculum was embraced by teachers because it wasn’t presented as something extra to teach. Instead, the Risk Watch lessons were aligned with the state learning requirements.

“It really ties in to what we’re trying to teach,” Phillips said.

Also, officials say the Risk Watch curriculum does a nice job of speaking to students at their level.

Depending on their grade, students assume different roles for learning activities. Youngest students are “storytellers,” using songs, poems and role-playing to talk about safety. Seventh- and eighth-graders are “coaches,” becoming role models in their community and helping to teach younger students.

“Before, we had K-5 assemblies to talk about safety, but at some point, they’d be talking above or below someone,” said Mike Jordan, Riverside Elementary School principal. “Now the lessons are directed at a target audience where students learn best - in smaller groups.”

The safety messages are the same as always; the difference is in how they’re presented.

Before, as many as five different agencies wanting to share the same message about the importance of bike helmets battled for limited time during the school day, Thornton said. With Risk Watch, the same agencies will be involved, but they’ll all be cooperating instead of competing.

“Now, from preschool through eighth grade, the message will always be consistent,” Kent said.

Based on pre- and post-test scores from students in the pilot program, it’s clear the message is getting across.

“They made significant gains,” Kent said of the pilot students. “That told us there is a need out there.”

But more significant than tests are the real-world examples of Risk Watch’s effectiveness. After the pilot program began, a student’s house caught fire. Since the family had an emergency plan, no one was hurt. For that, the parents credited the Risk Watch program, Kent said.

In another case, a realistic-looking play gun was found on a playground. Students knew not to touch it and to quickly find a teacher. Again, parents pointed to the information their kids learned in Risk Watch, Kent said.

Next year, officials hope to have full implementation of the Risk Watch program in all preschool through eighth-grade classes in Deer Park and Riverside schools.

“This is the kind of thing that keeps the Columbine-type tragedy from happening,” Thornton said. “It helps keep kids connected - to help them feel part of something bigger than they are.”