Students honored for school safety efforts

SANDPOINT — A group of Washington Elementary third graders have proven that age doesn’t matter when it comes to making a difference and creating change.

For their efforts in making the school a safer place, the kids are now immortalized on one of the gates in front of Washington Elementary. Each of their photos and names are on the colorful, permanent metal sign that was attached to the gate on Tuesday. The words “We had a dream — for safer crosswalks” are incorporated as well.

“So even as high school kids, they can come back and say, ‘I remember when we did this,’ said Charlene Hitchcock, second-grade teacher and the kids’ former teacher. “And it is a gift from the city. They wanted to do this to recognize their (the kids) hard work.”

As second graders in the school’s Design for Change elective with Hitchcock, the group of about 20 students realized there were several safety concerns in the intersection in front of Washington Elementary. They decided to tackle the problem and find real solutions.

The kids wrote a letter, on a very large sheet of paper, to the city of Sandpoint regarding their concerns over safety in the intersections outside their school. The following week, in March 2018, the group took their concerns to City Council, explaining the safety issues and possible solutions to council members. Safety concerns, which were captured on video by the kids, included cars parked in crosswalks, students and parents not using crosswalks and not listening to crossing guards, snow blocking ramps and crosswalks, faded paint, cars parked illegally and vehicles speeding.

“They came before City Council and they had a ton of ideas, which is just amazing at that age,” said Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon, who worked closely with the kids throughout the project. “They had a plan, what they wanted, and kind of like every great plan, they didn’t get everything they wanted ... we still got some of that stuff, we just had to work it a different way.”

Some of the solutions the kids came up with were flashing lights, ticketing violators, repainting red zones, deploying a large radar trailer and, of course, rainbow crosswalks. They worked with Coon and other city staff to brings the solutions to reality.

As of Sept. 10, 2018, the gates were placed at two intersections along Erie Street, which runs east to west in front of the school. When the gates are swung into place, it creates a temporary one-way street during drop off and pick up times. Cars can only travel west on Erie between Lavina and Boyer for loading and unloading during morning and afternoon hours. Curbs have been repainted and school zone signs have been placed as well.

Unfortunately, it was determined by city officials that rainbow crosswalks — the thing they were most excited about — were too expensive and not practical for the intersection. The kids’ disappointment dissipated, however, when they learned they would get to design the signs to go on the gates.

“They wanted the rainbow to be incorporated, because they had initially wanted the rainbow crosswalks,” Hitchcock said.

It was soon after Martin Luther King Jr. Day when they were working on the design, she said, which is where the “We had a dream” theme stemmed from, Hitchcock said. The photos of each student are a profile view, with the kids looking up as if they are thinking about that dream.

The sign with the kids’ pictures on it is at the intersection of Boyer Avenue and Erie Street. While that sign is one-sided, the other gate at Erie and Lavina Avenue has a two-sided sign. That sign has the rainbow incorporated with large lettering for the words “Keep our school safe,” and the Design For Change emblem.

As four SPD officers, including Coon, were installing the signs Tuesday afternoon, the former DFC kids came out of their classes, pointing to their respective photos with excitement. Coon was excited as well to see the project finalized with the signs as a tribute to the youngsters who took action to make their school safer.

“I love it,” he said. “This is a way to show the kids that if they say something and they are unified, results can happen ... the reason this got changed was because of the second-grade class. I think this is a great way to honor them.”

The new group of DFC second graders have a project going to reduce food waste in school cafeterias. The “big” idea, Hitchcock said, is to switch recess and eating times.

“Right now, the little kids come into the cafeteria and they can’t wait to go outside,” Hitchcock said, adding that they often dump a lot of their food to get outside faster. “Research shows that if they have recess first, and then they come in for a quieter, calmer 20 minutes, they will actually eat their food.”

The group will be at the local Earth Day celebration on Saturday, where they will explain the importance of their project and how to change food waste. The sixth-grade Washington DFC group will also be speaking about recycling and alternatives to disposable plastics.

The celebration will be held from 1-4 p.m. at Farmin Park in Sandpoint. Find the full list of Earth Week events at bit.ly/2WLpQcQ.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.