Jeannette Junior High students pin hopes on drawing attention to a national issue

Jeannette Junior High School students are pinning their hopes that a school project will draw attention to a national issue.

For the fifth year in a row, Jeannette students took part in national Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month by participating in Pinwheels for Prevention.

A “garden” of 250 blue pinwheels sits proudly below the school’s marquee. The pinwheels were planted by students in Kristina Robinson’s Life Skills classes as well as several others. Each of the pinwheels represents a child who deserves a happy, healthy and safe childhood.

School social worker Amy Chapman and social work intern LaTanya Mixon spoke to the students about the campaign and why safe and secure home environments and important for students’ learning.

The ninth grade Life Skills curriculum includes a unit on parenting. Students benefit from additional learning about what child abuse and neglect is, why it occurs, how it impacts our communities and resources and how it can be addressed.

Sadly, across the United States, five children die every day due to abuse or neglect. Children who are abused or neglected have a higher school dropout rate, suffer more mental illnesses and are more likely to repeat the cycle than children who are not. Many of the prevention programs have been eliminated due to state budget cuts.

The pinwheels the Jeannette students made served as an important symbol of what we as a community can do to bring attention to this important issue.