April is Child Abuse Awareness Month, and Woodward Public Schools is using their school bus to help raise awareness by decorating the vehicles in blue ribbons.
The blue ribbon is considered the international symbol for child abuse prevention, and the Woodward Area Coalition, along with some help from the Woodward County office of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, worked together to encourage members of the community to decorate trees at trees at schools and other related areas as well, to serve as a reminder that everyone has a responsibility in protecting children.
When she spoke with Woodward News, Woodward Public Schools Transportation Director Rosetta Loomis said the buses were her operation’s way of spreading awareness, since they lacked the trees everyone else was decorating.
“Well, we just don’t have as many trees, so we decided to do the awareness for April by decorating the buses,” Loomis told the newspaper. “It is a wonderful teaching and learning opportunity.”
According to School Bus Fleet, Loomis also had her drivers attend a training session at the end of the previous school year that covered child abuse and prevention.
“Part of this awareness is to get the news out there that we are all mandated reporters,” Karen Harrison, a member of Woodward Area Coalition, told Woodward News. “If you see something, it is important to call the [child abuse] hotline.”
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services child abuse and neglect hotline is (800) 522-3511.
