radKids Program Continues To Teach Students About Personal Safety
Written by admin, Dec 1, 2014, Comments Off
Courtesy Veronica Cantu,
Laredo, Tx-Preparing students for possible dangerous situations is the focus of the personal empowerment safety education program called radKids. Since the Spring of 2012, the program has been taught to second grade students at all United I.S.D. elementary schools. Last year, Bonnie Garcia Elementary School decided to implement the curriculum with all students at their campus. This year, Gutierrez Elementary School will do the same. On Thursday, Steve Daley, founder of the radKids Program, visited Gutierrez Elementary to practice drills with students in the school gym as parents looked on.
“The radKids program provides students with the tools and skills they need to recognize, avoid, resist and escape violence, abduction or harm,” said Daley.
In addition to practice drills, the radKids curriculum involves classroom lectures that cover home and vehicle safety, out and about safety, realistic defense against abduction, good-bad-uncomfortable touch, stranger tricks (including physical defense against abduction), and self-realization of personal power.
“This program gives students the skills they can use if they find themselves in any dangerous situation,” said United ISD District Athletic Coordinator and District radKids coordinator Lisa Haberkorn.
The radKids curriculum is designed for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and aligns with instructional objectives for physical education and guidance and counseling. Students in second grade, with permission parents, participate in the radKids program for three weeks during their physical education class. In the classes, students develop plans for various types of emergencies and/or dangerous situations. Upon completing eight hours of training, each child receives a certificate of completion with his/her picture and thumb print, as well as, a radKids wristband.
To date, United ISD has over 65 trained radKids instructors and over 3,700 students. For more information on the Program, please see your child’s campus counselor or contact Haberkorn at (956) 473-7134.
