As the pilot phase of AIP Foundation’s pedestrian road safety program, sponsored by Chevron Ltd., moves forward, county officials, teachers, and other stakeholders gathered on Wednesday to explore potential partnerships and to adapt AIP Foundation’s draft curriculum. The pilot will begin in October 2012 at Gaoqiao and Qili Primary Schools in Kai County.

County officials hosted a stakeholder workshop on September 12, where AIP Foundation presented the project plan and strengthened relationships with the police, Department of Education, Youth League, school officials, parents, and Chevron representatives. Attendees provided feedback and agreed to their roles and responsibilities in support of this project. The Kai County Coordination Office director Mr. Qingfu Wang expressed his gratitude to both AIP Foundation and Chevron for improving the safety in the Kai community. “If the project prevents even one crash and saves one life, it will have a huge impact on a family and the community, reducing the burden on society,” he said, emphasizing the important role played by parents in bringing safety out of the classroom and into a family’s daily life.

Following the stakeholder meeting, 16 teachers from Gaoqiao and Qili Primary Schools joined a curriculum writing workshop to discuss lesson content, flow, sequence, and clarity. AIP Foundation prepared a draft curriculum in advance for grades one, three, and six, informed by international curricula as well as information gathered in the baseline assessment in June. The main findings of the baseline survey were that parents, teachers, and the community are worried about the road safety situation, but the teachers lack the materials and resources for training students in traffic safety in the classroom. The focus of this workshop was on adapting the draft to the Chinese context and allowing teachers to take ownership of the material.

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