Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program is approved by the Petersburg City School Board
In light of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 21 people, including 19 children, Petersburg City Public School Board voted on and approved the collaboration with the Petersburg Sheriff Department for Petersburg students' participation in the Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program.
“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the Petersburg Sheriff’s office to offer this educational program about gun safety to our kindergarten through fifth-grade students,” said Kenneth Pritchett, School Board Chair.
Even though the program was voted on, it is not a requirement for students to participate and parents can opt-out of the program if they decide. But PCPS strongly encourages parents to allow their children to participate.
According to Dr. Julius Hamlin's letter to parents, the program has been around for over 30 years with the goal to teach children four easy steps if they come across a gun. The program was developed by a task force made up of educators, school administrators, curriculum specialists, urban housing safety officials, clinical psychologists, law enforcement officials, and National Rifle Association firearm safety experts.
“Stop! Don’t Touch. Run Away. Tell a Grown-up,” Petersburg Sheriff Vanessa Crawford said opening the presentation.
According to Crawford, stopping allows children the time they need to remember the rest of the safety instructions. Not touching a firearm that is not touched or disturbed, is unlikely to be fired and otherwise endanger your children.
"Running away removes the temptation to touch the firearm as well as the danger that another person may negligently cause it to fire," she continued.
The last step is children should seek a trustworthy adult, neighbor, relative, or teacher if a parent or guardian is not available about the discovered firearm. The program will allow students to be engaged in the lesson and talk about gun safety in a way that is targeted for their age. The curriculum is similar to how children are taught how to dial 9-1-1 in case of emergency and “stop-drop-and-roll” in case of a fire. Once they complete the program, they will get a certificate.
“A child should never ever touch a gun at all, unsupervised or supervised period,” said Juanita Jones in the comment section of the Zoom.
While the program is designed for elementary students, Crawford has a colleague that works with an award-winning canine that is trained to search for weapons. Even though her colleague,James Overton, and the canine work together in Hampton schools, according to Crawford, he offered to come and give the Petersburg School Board a demonstration of what the canine can do.
The School Board is taking a more proactive approach to promoting safety in Petersburg City Public Schools. In previous conversations about safety, the public has demanded that Petersburg as a whole improves on safety to stop any violence that can impact the community.
Zoe Collins Rath (she/her/hers) is an award-winning Sports Columnist and Investigative Reporter. She is the Sports and Education reporter for The Progress- Index. For times email her at ZCollinsRath@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @zoe_jordan99.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg City School Board approves gun safety program for elementary students.
