School Safety
DELMARVA – Ensuring child safety and well-being is a top priority at Delmarva. As students prepare to head back to the classroom, it doesn’t matter if they are going to Pre-K or a senior in high school, parents want to make sure their kids are safe. Many experts believe creating a safe environment is the key to a healthy mindset and local experts agree.
Student Safety
The thing is, physical safety has always been important, and now, one’s mental health is included in student safety. From the classroom bully, or the thought of a school shooting, whatever the fear might be, parents ponder on what could go wrong when they send their child off to school.
Captain Richard Wiersberg of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office says there are many ways to prepare yourself and your child from potentially dangerous situations. “I think a child should know their address and phone number soon as they’re able to… With my 2 kids, as soon as they could, I was hammering it into them all the time, “What’s mom and dad’s address, what’s mom and dad’s name, what’s mom and dad phone number?” and then when they went to school, we put slips in their backpack with our information on it… We encourage families to make sure that if there is an emergency at their house, they have a tree that everybody meets at if something happened at the house, if there’s a fire.”
Officials also stress that students should stay on the sidewalks, and away from strangers while walking home. Captain Wiersberg says parents should also keep a close eye on what’s happening at home. “Parents need to pay attention to what’s going on their family computer, even their cell phones, they’re minicomputers. To make sure, who are talking to their young adult, their children, because you never know.”
Ericka Taylor-Daniel, Psychiatric Family Nurse Practitioner for A Peaceful Place Integrated Care in Dover, says nowadays a child’s mental safety can be threatened by social media. “Our children are unfortunately bombarded with AI generated pictures, influencers, people who happen to be A- typical but stereotypical normal.” She says self-confidence can be fostered in a home environment, by letting children know people come in many different shapes and sizes, and that also goes for emotions. “One of the most important things we can do as parents, is give our children an emotional vocabulary. There are lots of things between angry, mad, sad, happy, there’s frustrated, there’s disappointment, there are so many other things.”
Captain Wiersberg says to prevent a potential crisis, it’s always important to say something, if you see something concerning. “If something’s not right let someone know so it can be addressed. If you don’t let anyone know, then it can’t be addressed. It may be something very simple, or it may be something very dangerous where it could stop a potential awful situation from occurring.”
They say children can maintain a healthy mental capacity by staying physically active, eating healthy foods in the morning and having outlets where they can safely express themselves at home. Many schools now have therapists or counselors on site, so, students have access to them throughout the day, and there is no shame with talking about your feelings. Many schools also have SRO’s or School Resources Officers, and they’re on hand to keep the school safe from any potential threats.
Bus Safey
Safety extends to the streets and sidewalks as well. While Delaware transports 130,000 pupils, on 1,800 school buses each day, in Mayland more than 600,000 students ride the bus in a typical school year. Across the United States, school bus accidents account for 0.3% of all fatal crashes, a frightening statistic.
Captain Rich Wiersburg of the Wicomico County Sherrif office says all drivers should obey the rules of the road, and there can be potential risk when it comes to public transportation. He says many factors go into school bus safety including how the students behave, and if drivers are following the rules of the road. He also says students shouldn’t run out into the street when they see the bus, and being careful can prevent a tragedy.
“If they’re up running around, and God forbid something happens, and the bus driver has to hit the breaks in an emergency situation, they’ll be flying all over the bus. If they’re in their seats, that may not happen… Student safety is a big deal when it comes to riding the school bus. We ask people when they’re behind the school bus, I know it can be frustrating, because it stops a lot, just be patient, I know. a lot of our driers pull to the side and let cars pass.”
Officers say passing a school bus with its hazard lights on in Maryland will cost you $570.00, plus 3 points on your license, and in Delaware, fines reach up to $200.00 with a possible 60 days of jail time. Captain Wiersburg says staying safe on the roads, will keep our students safe this semester.
