Get Home Safe Campaign
How many students heard the message of your project?
1800
Estimated percentage of your student body?
91-100%
Who has your project aimed to reach?
Freshman class| Sophomore class| Junior class| Senior class
Objective:
Clearly state the objective of your project.
The Champion Schools Program is a peer-to-peer program about teen driving safety presented by The Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey (BIANJ) Dumont High School has been participating for 2 years now. In 2023, we received the Most Outstanding New School. We wanted to continue the same theme and build off of it each year. The goal of the Get Home Safe campaign is to encourage people to have a plan when leaving the house that involves making good decisions with the objective of getting home safe. No matter if you are a pedestrian or a driver, the decisions you make have an impact on you and the others around you.
Execution:
Describe your project and its implementation.
Our project is to make sure the people of the Dumont Community have a plan to “get home safe”, no matter where they are going and how they are getting there. This year we focused on outreach to our middle and high school students at wellness fairs. At each wellness fair, our team representatives asked students the method that they get to and from school (i.e. walking, riding a bike, driving themselves, or getting a ride) and the route that they take. Our team members then informed students on certain dangers along the route (i.e. dangerous intersections, railroad crossing, congested driving areas, etc) that they may encounter and how to plan to be safer. Team members also ran an interactive experience where students were asked to “drive” cars around a mock baseball diamond once regularly and once again with drunk goggles to simulate drunk and/or distracted driving. Team members also created a social media account (Instagram) to help spread awareness of our message throughout the year.
School/Community Engagement:
How did you reach your student body and the community? (examples: connecting with nearby colleges, schools, local police departments, persons affected by teen crashes, local/county/state governments, and local businesses)
We focused our attention on the target population of students in the Dumont School District, primarily middle and high school students. We also provided materials to students in the Dumont School Community that helped reach other parts of the Dumont Community at large. Each day 2,000 students in our district walk or get dropped off at school. No buses are offered. In a busy town, Pedestrian safety is key. Our goal was to get people to think of their route ahead of time to prevent any accidents or injuries.
Our middle school and underclassmen were the target of our pedestrian movement. When we spoke or met with these groups we identified risky areas in town and the importance of crosswalks. The upperclassmen and staff were pushed toward the 4 bases which are 1st Base- Plan Ahead Know your route and the potential hazards along it, 2nd Base- Create a Safety Net- Surround yourself with trusting people that will help you get home safe 3rd Base- Execute Safe Driving Follow your plan to the best of your ability, and finally Arrive Home Safely. Our goal is to get drivers to understand the importance of watching for pedestrians, driving under the influence, and planning a safe trip home.
Creativity:
What makes your project unique and engaging? How did you engage with other student groups to creatively spread your message? (Examples: create artwork, music, plays, unique campaign slogan/logos)
In order to attract people to our campaign we use PE kickball games, tabling events, wellness fairs, and pledges. We have about 23 students who all wear their Jerseys to promote teamwork on and off the road. This year our students created an instagram and a video to spread awareness of our club.
Teamwork:
Show how you worked as a team in designing and implementing your project (examples: sign-in sheets at meetings, photos of the group working on tasks).
In our slide presentation, we show how much work we put into spreading awareness of our campaign. You will see us participate in 3 different wellness fairs in addition to the tabling we did at school. Our students delegated responsibilities throughout the year for all of it to come together. Some students created an instagram
Use of Research/Data:
Show how you used local resources to help identify, deliver, assess, and present your project (Examples: local/statewide/national data.).
Representatives from the Dumont Police Department assisted team members at the district-wide presentations to start conversations with the student population about getting home safe in town. Representatives discussed trends going on in town in regards to traffic and safety. The representatives from the police department provided the team with the opportunity to connect the school community to the Dumont community at large. Dumont PD also made sure to send an officer to our wellness table for the younger kids to ask.
Use of Media:
Document how you used media in your project (examples: local radio, TV, newspapers, social media, websites, video, PSAs).
During our monthly meetings, we have attempted to call into z100 iheart radio to see if we could get a shout out. We did not get through.
Our school was so pleased with our table and its interactive activities that we got a write up in the school newspaper.
This year one of our juniors created a @dhsgethomesafe instagram.
We created a video to spread our campaign and they were streamed on some of the TVs in the media center.
Evaluation and Impact:
Describe how you measured the impact of your project (examples: pre/post observational studies, surveys, quizzes, interviews, etc.)
Being about to host our own table at our district, we reached about 2000 students. Our student body has responded so well to our campaign that many would like to make it a club within our school. Applications and interviews to be selected
We also had more pledges from our student body and staff than last year. Each year students come to me and ask how they can join the club. I remind them it is a campaign and not a club. Some of our students will be writing to our board of education to consider it as a club in a few years during the next contract negotiation.
Sustainability:
How will your project have a lasting effect on your target group?
We focused our attention on the target population of students in the Dumont School District, primarily middle and high school students. We also provided materials to students in the Dumont School Community that helped reach other parts of the Dumont Community at large. Each day 2,000 students in our district walk or get dropped off at school. No buses are offered. In a busy town, Pedestrian safety is key. Our goal was to get people to think of their route ahead of time to prevent any accidents or injuries.
Our middle school and underclassmen were the target of our pedestrian movement. When we spoke or met with these groups we identified risky areas in town and the importance of crosswalks. The upperclassmen and staff were pushed toward the 4 bases which are 1st Base- Plan Ahead Know your route and the potential hazards along it, 2nd Base- Create a Safety Net- Surround yourself with trusting people that will help you get home safe 3rd Base- Execute Safe Driving Follow your plan to the best of your ability, and finally Arrive Home Safely. Our goal is to get drivers to understand the importance of watching for pedestrians, driving under the influence, and planning a safe trip home.
Because we have pedestrian and driver focused education coming from our campaign, we have something relating to everyone at our table.
Our get home safe logo has trickled down to recreational teams wanting a visit from our group.
Unexpected Lessons Learned:
Describe any unintended results that came out of your project.
Our get home safe logo has trickled down to recreational teams wanting a visit from our group. Our spring athletes who are in get home safe are planning on attending recreational baseball and softball games in June to promote pedestrian safety.
Our students continue to branch off from our original idea and its really fun to facilitate.
We still have some barriers within our school relating to what and who we can post. So our instagram was created later in our campaign after the wellness fairs. This delayed our involvement with the community outside of our school walls.
We also had an unexpected death in the community where a mom killed in a hit and run. Driver was 90+ and fled the scene. It was one of those moments where the kids realized what we are doing was more than a trip to six flags and a driving campaign. Even if one more person in our town is careful because of our message, we have done our job!
Stipend Reporting:
Your school received a stipend to support your Champion School Teen Driving Safety Project. Additionally, any funds that you raised as a result of your project must be reinvested into transportation safety. The purpose of this report is to itemize expenditures for your project that were paid from the stipend
jerseys $110
Bus $890
Total $1000
PROJECT MEDIA
