Implementing Risk Watch

Your first priority should be to make your implementation effort successful! If it is successful, the future will take care of itself. Teachers will hear about the curriculum and want to use it in their schools. Community organizations will want to get involved. If your effort is less than successful, the future will be much more tenuous. Focus your efforts and energy on building a strong foundation for Risk Watch in the first year.

Implementing Risk Watch means bringing your coalition’s vision to fruition. Following are several principles that should guide your implementation project:

Principle #1: Start small.

The purpose of your implementation effort is to plant Risk Watch in a few classrooms and give it an opportunity to be successful. Begin with a small number of classrooms to which you can offer complete support. You want the teachers to be excited and happy at the end of the year, not disappointed. Teachers will be your best advocates if they have a positive experience with Risk Watch.

Principle #2: Provide total support to the teachers.

What kind of support? Ask the teachers! They will tell you exactly what they need. If you’re smart, you will listen! This may mean making copies, bringing a fire truck or police car to the school, having lunch with the kids, or just being available to answer questions.

You may think you already know exactly what the teachers will need, based on your experience as a public educator or health care provider. But the only way to be certain is to ask. Be sincere. Your credibility is on the line. One idea: many schools find it costly to reproduce Risk Watch materials for their classrooms. By providing copies of all student materials to your teachers, you will increase the likelihood that they will be used. This cost can be substantial, but it is the cost of doing business. It is your coalition’s responsibility to build these costs into your overall funding plan for Risk Watch. Another challenge is getting the correct number of copies to the teachers. This can be accomplished by working through a Risk Watch coordinator at each school or by visiting the schools personally.

Principle #3: Develop relationships.

It is easy to get so busy that you are only a face in the crowd to the teachers and others involved in your Risk Watch implementation. Take time to develop partnerships and relationships with the teachers and supporters. The teachers will grow to trust you and will provide honest feedback. It also makes the whole process more fun for everyone.

Principle #4: If it is worth doing, it is worth evaluating.

An entire unit in this manual is devoted to evaluation. The reason: it is an essential element of any successful educational effort. It takes time and may require recruiting outside assistance. But it is the only way to determine if Risk Watch is making a difference. Those people who are supporting your program are going to want more than an educated guess about the effectiveness of the program.

Before you begin your implementation, your coalition and school partners will have to decide how many classrooms will be involved. Again, keep it small – one or two classrooms per grade level is sufficient. You should also decide which teacher(s) at each grade level will participate, the date of your teacher workshop and the project timeline. See more about the teacher workshop in the next section.

Be sure to identify the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in the project. What are your expectations? Also, develop a list of local organizations that can provide classroom support. For example, the best support organization for the Water and Ice Safety lesson in Risk Watch may be the Canadian Red Cross. Contact a representative from each organization and talk to them about Risk Watch.

Getting students involved

Risk Watch gets students involved in the learning process, and when children work to learn and practise their new safety skills, they deserve recognition. Here are a few ideas:

• sponsor a school assembly and present graduation diplomas.
• host a field trip to the local fire station, police station, hospital, etc.
• sponsor a Risk Watch Safety Fair at the school.
• give each child a Risk Watch t-shirt.
• work with a local restaurant to offer free food coupons.
• sponsor a colouring contest and offer prizes.
• work with teachers to initiate the activities suggested in the Risk Watch lesson plans under Community Links and Extensions.

Summary

The first year of Risk Watch in your community is a critical year. To be successful, you must focus on the job at hand. Make sure the teachers are well prepared and that a support mechanism is in place. Keep lines of communication open with the teachers and all the other members of your Risk Watch team. And be patient. Time will be the judge of how well you’ve done your job. Success is at hand!

Leadership Tasks

Review the principles for your Risk Watch implementation.

Meet with representatives from the school district to plan your implementation effort.

Meet with representatives from the other support agencies and organizations involved in providing classroom support for Risk Watch.

Develop a method for communicating with classroom teachers.