PARMA, Ohio — The city of Parma is reviving its Safety Town program this summer, offering pre-kindergarten children an opportunity to learn essential safety skills before entering kindergarten.
The program, developed in partnership with the Parma Police Department, will be held at Green Valley Elementary School at 2401 W. Pleasant Valley Road. Classes will run from July 7 through August 7, with morning sessions from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and afternoon sessions from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Safety Director Robert Coury outlined details of the program at a recent meeting of Parma City Council’s Safety Committee.
“Safety Town is designed to help children gain a better understanding of the importance of safety in their own lives,” Coury said.
The four-day course will cover various safety topics including personal identification, fire safety, railroad safety, pedestrian safety, driver safety, bicycle safety, school bus safety, stranger danger and 911 instruction. Children will receive personal identification kits and will take a school bus tour to a fire department for safety training.
The program is open to pre-kindergarten children who are residents of Parma or enrolled in the Parma City School District, which includes children from Parma, Parma Heights, and Seven Hills. Each class will have at most 20 students, with a total capacity of 200 students across 10 sessions. The city plans to implement a waiting list if more than 200 children enroll.
The school district will provide and maintain the site, pay for utilities and provide a school bus with a driver. For the 2026 program, Normandy High School’s shop class will likely build structures that can be used for sponsorship opportunities.
The city of Parma will create the curriculum, as well as hire staff to implement it. The city has set aside $40,000 for the program, which officials say should cover all current costs. Teachers will be hired as independent contractors at a rate of $35 per hour.
The city is seeking volunteers, particularly from the school district, to assist with the program.
Marketing for Safety Town began this month, with information expected to be released to the public by Friday. The program will provide T-shirts and additional safety materials for children to take home after completing the course.
Several council members expressed enthusiasm for the return of Safety Town, with one noting they had attended the program at Green Valley Elementary as a child and later volunteered there.
“The officers are very caring and put a lot of heart into the discussion and thought process,” Law Director Scott Tuma said during the meeting. “It‘s kind of surprising that you’d see these tough cops, but they really want to make this a program that‘s successful for the city of Parma.”
Generative AI was used to organize information for this story, based on data provided by the city of Parma. It was reviewed and edited by cleveland.com.
