Oak Forest HS Students Participate in 'Stewards of Children' Training

Oak Forest High School Child Care II students received a certificate for participating in training for the Stewards of Children Training given by Advocate Childhood Training Treatment program. The Stewards of Children Training program trained the Oak Forest High School students in sexual abuse prevention. Fellow district schools, Hillcrest High School, Tinley Park High School, and Bremen High School child care students also participated in this training

In this training, students were trained to recognize signs of abuse, how to be a mandated reporter, and what warning signs of abuse are. Students learned about the threat of sexual abuse in children and how to minimize the opportunity of potential sexual abuse by minimizing one child/adult situations. Students learned that children need to talk openly about abuse and how to stay alert to the potential signs of abuse which can be emotional, physical, or verbal. Students learned who to contact in situations of abuse and how to act on their suspicions.

After the training, students made blankets for the Daybreak Shelter in Joliet, a homeless family shelter that specializes in keeping families together.

Oak Forest teachers Ms. Katherine Picht and Mr. Mark Furstenau participated in the training, as well as Bremen High School teacher Ms. Kim Flannigan, Hillcrest High School teacher Ms. Ashley Gerber, and Tinley Park teacher Ms. Maggie O’Connor.