Pop-Up Safety Town Visits Perry ELC
On April 13, 2023, the annual Pop-Up Safety Town took place at Perry Early Learning Center. Washtenaw ISD Early Childhood staff and the University of Michigan teamed up to bring the Safety Town to life. WISD’s Head Start Health Specialist Diana McPeek shared, “Safety Town brings families out and shares important health and safety tips they can use each day.” The event emphasizes that many accidents are preventable when the right steps are taken.
The Pop-Up Safety Town brought resources to the early childhood families at Perry ELC. The event primarily serves ages 3-5 and the Safety Town is made up of several different booths dedicated to teaching injury prevention and everyday safety tips, as well as connecting families to local services. The booths include, but are not limited to, dog bite prevention, WISD's Trusted Parent Advisors, AAA insurance, dental health, and more.
The Pop-Up Safety Town was started in 1937 and has been shown in different cities and states across the country. Dr. Andy Hashikawa noticed that this was not offered in underfunded communities, causing disparities between districts that could afford it and ones that could not. In fact, the Pop-Up Safety Town will be traveling to many more schools this year. Dr. Hashikawa passionately believes if you start to teach prevention at a young age then it is more likely to be avoided in the future. Actions as simple as teaching young kids to wear a helmet will make them more likely to make safer choices as they grow up.
That is why at the Pop-Up Safety town all children were fitted with and given a helmet to take home. The Safety Town was also equipped with a mock town that children were able to ride a bike through, including things like stop signs, street crossing, and cars so kids could practice beginning vigilant and know what each sign means.
WISD’s Early Childhood continues to partner with area schools, early childhood centers, and key community partners to connect families to services and supports. For more information, visit www.washtenawisd.org/our-schools-programs/early-childhood/.