Waukee APEX students received a grant for $1,600 from SFM Mutual Insurance for the proposed Winter Slips and Falls Prevention SFM Safety Grant project. The grant will help pay to send up to 75 Waukee Community School District (WCSD) staff members to the Iowa Illinois Safety Council on January 4 and 5.
“The training sessions will teach at-risk employees, like kitchen staff and custodians to walk across slick surfaces safely,” said Drake. “The training doesn’t just apply to winter weather because it will also help with techniques for walking across kitchens and on ladders which can be slippery.”
The Iowa Illinois Safety Council works to teach employees how to be safe in the workplace. WCSD at-risk faculty members will watch videos, learn about safe habits and walk through a slip simulator to practice the skills they learn while at the IISC.
This is the third year WCSD has received the grant, allowing the district to continue to improve the employee safety.
“Since Waukee Community School District already has a lot of winter safety equipment like salt, snowblowers and handrails, we had to come up with a cool and innovative teaching opportunity for the staff,” said Drake.
Waukee APEX forms a bridge between students and businesses, connecting them with opportunities to work with companies like SFM.
Barry explained the project and present the grant to the WCSD Board of Education at the November 27 meeting.
Both Barry, Drake and the rest of APEX have moved on to other projects, but their lasting impact will allow WCSD to provide their staff a safer, more enjoyable day at work.
