Russells Point Police Chief Joe Freyhof leads Safety Town at Indian Lake Elementary School. (Indian Lake Schools Photo)
The second year of Safety Town at Indian Lake Elementary School is already teaching children important life skills.
Safety Town started off with a lesson on Stranger Danger from Russells Point Police Chief Joe Freyhof and friends. Students learned that a stranger is someone they don’t know. They are taught to never talk to strangers, take gifts from strangers, go for a ride with strangers or go anywhere with a stranger. Their homework is to come up with a Secret Family Password that can be shared with a trusted adult in case of an emergency.
All current ILES kindergarten students will go through the full Safety Town curriculum over the next two weeks covering topics like pedestrian safety, bus safety, park/playground safety, good/bad touch, fire safety, safety around water, and more. The lessons will conclude with a graduation ceremony.
Chief Freyhof said in the past few years since the Covid-19 pandemic, Safety Town numbers in our area are dropping, but the training is critical. Kindergarten teachers will continue to review the lessons with additional materials provided throughout the year.
The program was 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.