Back to School Safety Reminders!

The first day of school for Natrona County School District students is September 6th. As we excitedly prepare for a great school year, we would like to share some important safety tips and reminders with our community. The Natrona County School District, Natrona County Sheriff's Office, Casper Police Department, City of Casper, Evansville Police Department, Mills Police Department, and other area community partners are dedicated to working together to ensure all students have a safe, fun, and exceptional school year

• Know the Signs

• Motorists should be aware of school zones and always obey all traffic laws. 

• Now is a great time to spend time familiarizing yourself with important traffic signs, crosswalks, and school zones that you may come across not only in your daily commute but throughout your neighborhood and the entire community. 

• Pay careful attention to school zones, bus stops, stop signs, and other important traffic elements in place to keep students walking, riding, bussing, or biking to and from school safely. 

• School Bus Stop Sign awareness. Red means stop, both flashing lights and/or the stop sign.

• “Whether you are in front of or behind a school bus, if the red flashing lights are on or the stop sign is out, you must stop,” shared NCSD Director of Public Relations, Tanya Southerland. “We encourage all drivers to be aware and diligent while driving at all times, but especially pay attention to school zones and school buses. You must stop when the stop sign is out, or the red lights are flashing. These laws are in place to protect our children. Let’s keep them safe, together.” 

• Ready, Set, Go! Planning with Purpose

• Now is a great time to have proactive conversations with your children regarding their daily walk or ride to and from school and discuss simple safety measures to keep them safe. 

• Talk to your children about recognizing and obeying traffic signals, signs, and pavement markings.

• Always look both ways before crossing the street and cross the street using a crosswalk. Never enter streets from behind parked cars, shrubbery, signs, etc. that may block your view or the view motorists have of you.

• Walk and never run across intersections.

• “Taking time before school starts to walk with your child to and from school or the bus stop is a great opportunity to have targeted conversations with your children about paying attention to crosswalks, stop signs, and other traffic signals,” suggested Lt. Scott Jones, Casper Police Department. “It is also a great time to have early conversations with your student about being aware of their surroundings and avoiding distractions, such as texting or playing games on their phone while walking or biking to and from school.”

• Digital Safety Reminders

• The start of a new school year is a great opportunity to open a conversation with your child about online safety.

• Talk with your student about what type of online access they need for school and what inappropriate usage may look like.

• “Parents and guardians should have an open conversation with their children regarding transparent phone usage. It is critically important to know who your kids are talking to and what apps they are using to communicate. But, most importantly, encourage your children to speak with a trusted adult anytime they encounter an uncomfortable situation online, " said Lt. Jeremy Tremel, Casper Police Department. “With the direct partnership of parents, guardians, and trusted adults in the lives of our Casper kids, we can work together to keep our community’s kids safe online.”

• For resources on teaching kids about online safety and what to look for on devices, please visit casperpolice.org/keepkidssafeonline.

• “Say NO, GO and TELL” Safety Rule

• Familiarize your student with the safety rule, “Say NO, GO and TELL.” If anyone approaches your child, offers them a ride, asks for directions, or makes them feel uncomfortable, instruct them to say “NO,” get away from the situation (GO), and TELL a trusted adult. Be sure to discuss with your child who trusted adults may be: parents, teachers, police officers, firefighters, relatives, etc.

• “Start an open conversation with your child about stranger safety, and remind them to trust their intuition and to take action when they sense they are in danger,” shared Natrona County Sheriff John Harlin. “Talk through scenarios that a stranger may use to ploy your child, such as offering a ride home or asking for help finding a lost pet. Make safety part of your routine everyday life by continuing safety conversations with your child.”

• Community Connections - Help All Students Have a Great School Year! 

• Make sure your campers/etc. are not parked on sidewalks.

• Walk your property, make sure all trees/shrubbery and other items are clear of signs and the sidewalk.

• “We are grateful to our community’s commitment to keep sidewalks clear of any obstructions that would prevent a student or other community member from walking safely on our sidewalks, instead of in our streets,” shared City Manager Carter Napier. “We also ask property owners to keep trees and shrubbery from blocking stop signs or other traffic signs. Together, we can keep our entire community safe."