Safety Town 2023 Approaches

Safety+Town+2023+Approaches

Safety Town is a program for students that are entering kindergarten in the fall of 2023. During the four day session students are taught about safety skills and practices that are needed to enter kindergarten. 

“Every summer we have at least 60 teens volunteer for the program,” said April Jira, the Safety Town Director. “We have up to 240 students that enroll for the summer.” 

Their staff consists of teenage volunteers, Wadsworth City Schools staff members, a firefighter, a police officer, and adult supervisors. 

Safety Town is two and a half hours for four days during the week over the summer. The registration fee is thirty dollars for anyone registering after May 1st, if slots are still available. The Safety Town 2023 program is from July 10-13 and July 17-20. Students must register online, walk-ins are not allowed. Class sizes are limited to 60 students. 

Officer Shonk poses with other Safety Town volunteers. Photo Courtesy of April Jira

Students are provided with Safety Town t-shirts free of charge, and everyday there is a cookie break. Each child is required to bring a dozen peanut-free cookies.

“Safety Town participants are taught about safety in these areas: walking, bicycle, traffic, home, fire, school bus, strangers, and how to be a safe car passenger,” Jira said. 

The students are able to participate in a variety of activities while they are in Safety Town. 

“Safety Town village, take a short trip on a bus, participate in classroom lessons, shoot the fire hose, tour a fire engine, ambulance, and police cruiser, and have a graduation celebration on the last day,” Jira said. 

This is Safety Town’s 51st year educating kindergarten students in Wadsworth. 

“The mission of the Wadsworth Safety Town program is to partner with parents, Safety Town Staff, and Community Helpers to provide a safety program that will enable all participants an opportunity to learn safety rules and practices needed to enter Kindergarten,” Safety Town’s flier states.