Indian Prairie School District (IPSD) 204 held a school safety contest, tasking students with creating a poster or public service announcement – either hand-drawn or digitally – about the importance of reducing threats, whether real or a hoax, to their schools.
“We’re really looking for some buy-in and the interaction from student to student, to say, ‘This is not acceptable. This is not okay,’” said Ron Wilke, IPSD school safety, security and emergency preparedness coordinator.
Participation in the school safety contest
More than 200 students across all grade levels responded with submissions.
“This shows that students want to be involved and want to be part of the solution,” said Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross.
Chief Cross was one of six judges who evaluated each entry based on several key criteria, including adherence to the theme, creativity, and effectiveness of the message.
“Public safety is not just a responsibility of the school itself or police officers. It’s a community responsibility and students are a part of that community,” said Chief Cross. “They’re going to hear a lot about things before we do. So we need them to feel comfortable passing that information onto adults who can do something with that information to prevent violence in our schools.”
When will the contest winners be announced?
Winners of the contest will be revealed at District 204’s next board meeting, this Monday, February 24. The top prize in each of three categories – elementary, junior high, and high school – is a $500 Amazon gift card. The district plans to use these submissions as part of a social media campaign to further spread the message to the school community about the importance of school safety.
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