Red Bank Ready
How many students heard the message of your project?
900
Estimated percentage of your student body?
91-100%
Who has your project aimed to reach?
Freshman class| Sophomore class| Junior class| Senior class| School professionals| Parents| Community at large| Other
Objective:
Clearly state the objective of your project.
Our objective is to be RED BANK READY. Our students come from near and far to attend Red Bank Catholic HS. They spend at least 8 hours a day and at least 5 days a week in Red Bank. Many consider Red Bank their home away from home. After our survey and our discussions with our students and Red BANk Police, we believe we can all do our part to make this town safe for everyone.
We focused on parking lot safety, pedestrian crossing and the Move Over Law. Issues we all felt we could make safer by bringing awareness to the importance of safe driving in RED BANK
Safe Roads +Safe Driving = RED BANK READY!
Execution:
Describe your project and its implementation.
We believe everyone wants to live and attend school where road safety is a priority and drivers and pedestrians alike respect not only the roads but each other. RBPD do a great job monitoring our streets and their presence is visible. We believe the RBC community needs to do their part in keeping our HOMETOWN safe too. After talking to our student drivers and the results of our survey we believe there are 3 major obstacles we need to bring attention to and make safer. First parking lots where our students park, second, the awareness of the move over law, especially by Riverview Hospital and ER on Front Street and the last but not least Pedestrian crosswalks and the responsibility of the driver and also the pedestrian. There is a major crosswalk in front of RBC that is very busy before and after school. We interviewed the crossing guards who believe it is a challenge and sometimes drivers are not focused as they need to be. Once we had a mission we reached out to the stakeholders of RB Community, including business owners. We met with RBPD to talk about our concerns. This is not our first time, RBPD supported us in past campaigns too. RBPD monitor our roads to keep our roads safe. Captain Frycee was helpful with suggestions and put a blinking light sign by the crosswalk in front of our school to support our campaign. We also met with Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano who invited us to present our campaign at the Borough Hall town meeting on 4/25, which was very successful. The people of the town are impressed with our campaign and the fact that our students took responsibility to promote patience and kindness while driving.We took our campaign to the elementary school next door and shared what they can do through a coloring book to keep themselves safe.
We shared this with RBC through many morning announcements,
Wellness Wednesday video and met with our PTA. We had Red Bank Ready Day with a dress down day wearing our t shirts and a bake sale at all lunches.
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)
Our community and students were involved from the beginning. First through the student survey and their input we came up with the 3 obstacles we wanted to address, parking lot safety, crosswalks and awareness of the move over law. We communicated through morning announcements, Wellness Wednesday video, tee shirt sale with RED BANK READY and a bake sale. In the community we worked closely with the Red Bank Police and Captain Frysee and the Deputy Mayor who asked us to present our campaign at a Town Hall Borough Hall meeting.Mr. Ansell, a criminal defense lawyer, came and spoke to our students and talked about the dangers and criminal charges that come with drinking and smoking marijuana while driving.Plus the reminder that they are underaged and not legal for them to possess.! It was so awesome because our kids were surprised about the new marijuana laws. Knowledge is powerful and they needed to know these laws and consequences. Students presented a younger version of our campaign through a coloring book to the second graders at Saint James Grammar School. Our local businesses helped in different ways, from hanging signs, being interviewed and being in our video, showing they supported RED BANK READY
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)
We feel our project was unique and creative because we saw a problem in Red Bank and reached out to different facets of the community and our student body for ways we could address these concerns. Even though many of our students do not live in Red Bank , because of the many hours they are here, they saw that they can be a part of the solution, by making Red Bank Ready. We saw self reflection by our Caseys and their openness to take responsibility.I feel our students took our campaign to the next level working with town stakeholders, town businesses, all their public speaking presentations.
Our slogan was powerful and catchy and the math problem that was displayed on the back of our t-shirts, banners , signs and posters was very creative.
Smart Driving+Safe Roads = RED BANK READY ! our logo is the street light picture
We used Bruce Springteen ‘s song, OUR HOMETOWN, in our video when we shot pics and videos around our hometown. Also Bruce Springsteen is a local and has been known to shop in our town.
pictures sent to Noelle
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).
Team work
Many of my students are from my club, Caseys Creating Change. I have had great groups of kids over the years but this club brought it. They were ambitious, creative and really cared about the change we were trying to make.We usually met 5th lunch and after school.Much of our work was working with the public, so we were outside in Red Bank and we talked about presenting ourselves in a way we can be proud of. Everyone knew their strengths and challenges and we respected that. We truly worked together as a team Pictures sent to Noelle
Use of Research/Data:
Show how you used local resources to help identify, deliver, assess, and present your project (Examples: local/statewide/national data.).
The Red Bank Police were awesome because they reassured us that our 3 topics were concerns in the town. They were also there to help video and were even in our videos! Topics we discussed.
Accidents in New Jersey Parking Lots
1 There were 480 vehicle-pedestrian collisions in parking facilities in 45 of New Jersey’s 550 municipalities according to a three-year study, “Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety in Parking Facilities” by the Institute of Transportation Engine
accounted for 17% of all vehicle-pedestrian collisions studied
2 Many New Jersey drivers are unaware of the Move Over Law, even though it has been enacted for some time. Others are somewhat aware of it, but may not know specifically which vehicles it covers,.What’s the Move? When you see flashing lights on the side of the road, slow down, and if it’s safe, Move Over – away from police, fire crews, paramedics and tow truck drivers. If you make the move, others will follow.
3 Pedestrians have the right-of-way at all intersections, including intersections with no crosswalk markings (“unmarked crosswalks”). Motorists are prohibited from blocking or having a portion of their vehicle in the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or stop sign.
Use of Media:
Document how you used media in your project (examples: local radio, TV, newspapers, social media, websites, video, PSAs).
Active rbcjustdrive instagram account, featured on the main Red Bank Catholic instagram account, featured on the Top of the education page of the Two River Times, School outreach videos every Wednesday to spread the cause.
Evaluation and Impact:
Describe how you measured the impact of your project (examples: pre/post observational studies, surveys, quizzes, interviews, etc.)
I truly believe this campaign largely impacted our students and community in a positive way. Before the start of the campaign the students were interviewed in the parking lots about safety and parking problems they saw. The students then had to complete a survey about what could be changed for the better in the town. In the middle of the campaign students purchased matching Just Drive T-shirts to represent unity throughout our school community. At the end of the campaign the students of Red Bank Catholic watched our final report video showing all of our findings. I believe the students felt inspired about the cause of the campaign and will strive to do better. The message was simple and the delivery was easily understood. The audience took ownership of the issues faced and saw how these issues could be corrected. This town has become a huge part to all of the students lives.This town has become a second home to many and we want to keep it as safe as possible.
Sustainability:
How will your project have a lasting effect on your target group?
Red Bank Catholic has been a pillar in the Red Bank Community for over 100 years. The students are a huge part of this town and I believe that they were impacted and saw first hand the issues in the town. A huge part of the inspiration came from meeting with Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano. She had an inspiring and unique story. She was a prime example of creating an impact at a young age. The students are changing their attitude and actions to create an impact that will last for years in this community. It all starts with the younger generation. The teenagers are the future of this town and society. It is up to them to make the changes we need for a better future and I feel with this campaign that is possible.
Unexpected Lessons Learned:
Describe any unintended results that came out of your project.
The students learned a variety of important life lessons from working through this campaign. Some lessons learned in this campaign were the art of public speaking, self reflection, how to work with authority, developing a closer relationship with the head public officials of our community and many more. Through this campaign students had to present our ideas and campaign to the public. The campaign was presented to fellow students, teachers, local businesses, the Red Bank Catholic PTA and even at the Red Bank town council meeting. Furthermore the students learned about the art of self reflection on their own actions. They were able to see what they were doing wrong and how to change it. Additionally the students were able to work with authority on this project including teachers, business owners, police and other town authority’s.Lastly through this campaign a valuable relationship was formed with Red Banks Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano. The students worked alongside Kate to determine solutions to the problems faced in Red Bank. Kate even went as far as to say that she’s confident that this campaign will be a start to a great relationship with Red Bank Catholic.
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
Banners and posters $140.00
Ttee shirts $760.00
Food for kids to celebrate job well done $100.00
Total $1000
PROJECT MEDIA
