Hampshire said she feels honored to have been selected to be a member of the council. She was chosen by completing an application process, interview and a referral letter by the school resource officer.
“I hope to continue to improve students’ safety and help to provide a safe environment at school by being involved with the council. I hope to be able to continue to advocate for school safety and improve the safety at my own school as well,” she said. “School safety has always been important to me, so I am very thankful to be given this opportunity to serve on such an amazing council.”
The council will attend the in-person Ohio School Safety Summit on July 31 and Aug. 1 at the Columbus Convention Center to network and take part in information sessions on violence prevention strategies.
Members will develop strategies to encourage others to help maintain a safe school environment and be advocates for student well-being; work with OSSC school safety liaisons to organize events, focus groups and trainings to help highlight student success and best safety practices; and act as a sounding board for the OSSC on student marketing campaigns and other projects to make sure student voices are represented.
Hampshire will serve alongside Tecumseh student Tanner Elam, who was named to the 2023-24 council last year and will continue to serve on it.
“We are absolutely thrilled that two students from Tecumseh High School are on the Ohio Safety Council,” said Superintendent Paula Crew.
Gov. Mike DeWine created the council in 2022 to help OSSC leadership identify school safety concerns and develop solutions to address them. Students from last year’s council will present their capstone projects at the 2024 School Safety Summit this summer.
“This year’s students took their capstone projects to new levels and got their peers more involved in the everyday safety activities at their schools,” said OSSC Executive Director Emily Torok. “Our alumni members quickly got the new council onboarded, and they all supported each other in a student network to promote safety across the state. I encourage everyone to reach out to their local council member to learn about their projects and initiatives. They are very impressive.”
Eight of last year’s council will return this upcoming school year as mentors for the incoming council, and they will continue to work on projects in their communities and school safety improvements.
The program is housed within the Ohio Department of Public Safety and works to help local schools, colleges and universities and law enforcement agencies to prevent, prepare for and respond to threats and acts of violence.
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