ROBOTS CONVEY SAFETY MESSAGE TO CHILDREN IN MISSISSIPPI 

Sara McQuillin 
School Safety Specialist, Division of School Safety, Mississippi Department of Education

School districts in Mississippi are very creative in providing opportunities for students to participate in school safety programs. Typically these programs involve a cross section of the student population who are aware of trends in safety that impact the school environment. The Picayunne School District has an innovative program that involves students in school safety and communicates the message through a creative robot presentation.

The Picayunne School District's Campus Youth Security Council develops and makes realistic and situational presentations on School Safety and Security from the youth’s viewpoint. This is a striking presentation developed by the Youth Security Council using robots synthesizing the voices of youth presenters who are separated from the audience by a curtain. Typical audiences are elementary school children in the school district. However, they will go to other school districts and conferences upon request.

The presentation has two phases: one includes Billy who is a student riding on a tricycle talking with a stranger and Bobby, who is a police car. Upon observing Billy talking with a stranger and   preparing to accompany him, Bobby arrives on the scene with his siren sounding. This gets the attention of the children. He talks with Billy about the practice of not talking to strangers. As a part of the presentation, a team member gets the children involved with the police car in chanting together, “No, No, Don’t talk to strangers,” etc. Participation by children during the performance enhances learning transfer of safety. The other phase includes Billy and Buster, who is a school bus, with the discussion focused around school bus safety and discipline.   

This group made a presentation at the Mississippi Department of Education’s Second Annual Parents Conference and they were super stars. Two television stations featured them on the noon newscast. The involvement of students in developing the content of the presentation and the support provided by the Picayunne School District is representative of the focus given to school safety from the state to local level.

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