Because there is nothing more important than keeping children safe.
"I finally feel safe at last!"
These words came from an elementary student after learning assertiveness skills from the Sexual Assault Center's personal safety program. His expression of confidence inspired us to rename our K-6th grade curriculum to Safe @ Last . In order to prevent abuse and end existing cases of assault, we continually revise the program to make it as engaging and effective as possible.
Background
The Sexual Assault Center (SAC) in Nashville, Tennessee is the official distribution center for the Safe @ Last and BE! curricula. SAC works with a committee of educators from local universities, public and private schools, as well as our clinical therapists to review and revise materials in order to provide effective health and primary prevention programs.
By the mid-nineties, SAC therapists received numerous requests to provide basic personal safety training to students in Nashville elementary schools. It wasn't long before the demand for these trainings outgrew our capacity as schools from throughout Middle Tennessee recognized the necessity for this type of education. In an effort to provide this crucial training in a more effective and efficient way, SAC worked with the team mentioned above to develop a personal safety curriculum originally entitled Smart Kids/Safe Kids. In 1998, Smart Kids/Safe Kids was piloted with approximately 500 students in a few local schools. Smart Kids/Safe Kids changed names in 2003 to Safe @ Last after a student wrote on their evaluation that he finally “felt safe at last.” Within a few years, Safe @ Last training was provided throughout Davidson County schools and the Catholic Diocese and Parishes in the Middle Tennessee area.
Safe @ Last is used in public and private schools throughout Tennessee as well as in faith-based education programs. It is endorsed by the Metropolitan Nashville Public School System and Catholic Schools, Diocese of Nashville, TN. Safe @ Last was designed to teach children how to protect themselves for life. You will find it also exceeds the requirements of the National Council of Bishops' Charter Mandate on the Protection of Children and Young People and meets many standards set by the American School Counselor Association.
After the success of Safe @ Last in the local schools, SAC received numerous requests to help increase awareness of healthy relationships, respect and sexual assault information for students in middle and high schools. In 2006, extensive research was completed, and along with input from curriculum specialists, therapists, school counselors, law enforcement, partner agencies and teens themselves, SAC created BE! Promoting Healthy Relationships. The original version of the curriculum challenges students to "Be True to Yourself", "Be in the Know" and "Be the Change". In 2014, the teen curriculum is now BE! Be Empowered. BE! now focuses on four components: Technology, Bystander Intervention, Sexual Assault Facts, and Healthy Relationships.