Back ST. LOUIS (Friday, October 25, 2002) – The American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter today announced the expansion of its Safe Schools program into the Belleville School District in Belleville, Illinois. Westhaven Elementary School and Central Junior High School in Belleville Public Schools, District 118 and Belleville Township High School, District 201 will participate in the program. “The Safe Schools program is a natural extension of the disaster and health and safety training the Red Cross provides to the community,” said Christy Shultz, Executive Officer of Field Operations for the St. Louis Area Chapter. “Last year the Red Cross trained nearly 58,000 people in CPR and First Aid and helped prepare another 57,000 people in our community for disasters. Safe Schools takes traditional Red Cross training into the schools, in partnership with additional resources from violence prevention organizations, to create a comprehensive package for safe and healthy schools.” The three Belleville schools will participate in a two-year project designed to study the impact of early training and education on the ability of students, administrators, staff and parents to respond confidently to unexpected situations including violence, natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other emergencies. This two-year project, referred to as the School Safety Initiative, is a national Red Cross pilot program that fits under the St. Louis Area Chapter’s existing Safe Schools umbrella program. Belleville is one of nine cities across the country to participate in the School Safety Initiative which is funded nationally by AT&T Wireless. “Participating in this Red Cross program is a great honor for the Belleville Schools,” said Dr. James Rosborg, Superintendent for Belleville Public Schools, District 118. “This program will prepare our students, teachers and community for potential disasters, as well as help our students develop anger management, anti-bullying and conflict resolution skills to help our schools and community be a safer place.” Program Components Safe Schools is designed to support current school curricula with courses that help students, parents and faculty members create safer schools. This Initiative has three components: 1. Planning: The Red Cross facilitates community meetings between schools and emergency management agencies so together we can create disaster plans and response teams, equip schools with first aid supplies, facilitate drills and share best practices. 2. Training: We are actively involved in violence-preparedness training by educating teachers, students and parents in response and prevention-building skills, anger management, conflict resolution and anti-bullying. We train teams for first aid and multi-casualty response, and we train counselors for crisis response. 3. Response: If a disaster does occur, the Red Cross is prepared to respond immediately to support emergency workers, supplement mental health counseling as appropriate, and reunite families as quickly as possible. Since 2000, the Red Cross Safe Schools pilot program has trained nearly 10,000 Hazelwood School District students, teachers and administrators in emergency preparedness and violence prevention. The program is currently beginning its third year with the Hazelwood School District in Florissant, Missouri. Now in Phase II of its pilot program, the Red Cross is expanding to the Belleville School District. Safe Schools is funded by Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation, AT&T Wireless, and Target Stores, with additional funding provided by The Tilles Fund, The Baer Foundation, and the Roblee Foundation. About the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter Founded in 1917, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter provided emergency and preparedness assistance more than 354,000 times to St. Louis-area residents last year. The Red Cross depends on the efforts of 14,700 volunteers and 150 staff to provide a wide range of community support services, including disaster relief, first aid and CPR training, water safety, adult daytime professional care, services to military personnel, assistance to homeless families, and support for blood services. The Chapter provides programs and services to St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson County in Missouri, as well as Monroe, St. Clair and part of Madison County in Illinois.

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