Safety Town, the summer program that taught generations of Tigard’s tiniest citizens what to do in an emergency, returns this month for the first time since COVID-19 rolled through in 2020.
The two-week emergency preparedness class for 5- and 6-year-olds transforms Mary Woodward Elementary’s playground into a play town where the kids peddle their own “cars” from one make-believe shop to the next, stopping to learn about everything from how to approach a dog to what do in a fire with songs and puppets and older kids leading the way.
Each day centers on a new topic, with experts like firefighters and police officers on hand to introduce the theme in a short talk, and middle school-age Safety Town alumni to guide the younger kids through town while doing most of the teaching.
Before COVID-19 closures shuttered Safety Town, the longstanding program, according to Shelly Orchard, served about 160 children every summer.
Orchard, who retired last month from teaching kindergarten at Mary Woodward, and her husband, Shaun Orchard, stepped up this Spring to revitalize the town and get a new group of kids out on its “streets.”
“It was just such a valuable program, we didn’t want to see it go away just into oblivion because of COVID,” Shaun Orchard said.
Though the program has been around since 1972, restarting after the three-year pause has taken some heavy lifting.
Continuity was essential to keeping Safety Town humming. Its 12-member volunteer board of parents typically only serve during the two years their kids are eligible to participate.
“Because we were unable to do it for those years, we lost our entire board,” Shelly Orchard said. She and Shaun have been with the program for two decades, as teachers and the only paid board members.
They put out a call for new board members last winter, and local businesses Horizon Pediatrics, Kona Kids Dentistry, and Greenberg Pediatric Dentistry are sponsoring the relaunch.
This summer’s scaled-back offering is just one session, but the town will look familiar to families whose older kids went through the program.
The setup and play-based structure remain unchanged. The eight-day course teaches pedestrian, bicycle, water, home, electrical, fire, poison, and personal safety using arts, music, films, and more.
Kids peddle from station to station, following Safety Town’s roads across the asphalt and stopping for stories, arts, and singing. Day by day, they memorize their address and parents’ phone numbers and learn skills to escape a burning building.
“It’s kind of like an obstacle course; they have to roll out of a little “bed,” and crawl under this contraption we have that represents smoke, then they have to either go to a door or window made of PVC piping. They feel that with their hands and if the instructor says “hot” they have to find another exit,” Shelly Orchard said, describing the activity. “It’s just a fun way of learning what to do in an emergency.”
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue firefighters volunteer to help facilitate the day. The kids go home with materials to talk with their parents about creating a fire escape plan for their homes.
A few kids who had their skills put to the test in real life have drawn on the training to get out of the house and call 911, she said. She credits music with keeping the numbers fresh in young minds.
“We teach a lot of music related to the different safety topics,” Shelly said. “All the songs teach safety.”
For more information, visit tigardsafetytown.com.
