Because child abuse occurs even in faith-based communities, the Safeguards School Curriculum for elementary and homeschool teaches children how to assess and respond to potentially unsafe situations and people.
This six-week curriculum teaches elementary grades abuse awareness and prevention from a biblical worldview, based on the principles in the book Safeguards, by family counselor Julie Lowe. Written by Lowe, Lynne Little, and Angela Ruiz, all with extensive experience in counseling, education, and curriculum formation, the curriculum emphasizes scriptural truth as the foundation for developing the wisdom and discernment needed by children to be safe.
The curriculum is divided into two age levels (K–grade 2 and grades 3–5) and employs stories, puppets, role plays, crafts, and a variety of hands-on activities to teach about wisdom and discernment. Topics addressed include learning to say no, respect and privacy, being lost, and bullying.
- Helps teachers and parents gain a biblical understanding of both the dangers children face and God’s power to overcome.
- Each lesson includes a take-home paper to educate and equip parents to continue the conversations started at school.
- Developed in partnership with the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention, which provides awareness, accreditation, and resources to Christian organizations who are serving children.
Julie Lowe, MA, LPC, RPT-S is a licensed professional counselor with over twenty-five years of counseling experience, as well as a registered play therapist supervisor. She has authored several books, including Child Proof, Safeguards, Building Bridges, and the minibooks Helping Your Child with a Bully, Helping Your Anxious Child, and Teens and Suicide. Julie and her husband, Greg, have five children and serve as foster and adoptive parents.
Lynne Little, EdD, is the founder of Compass Education LLC, a consultancy resulting from a career in Christian education that spans more than twenty-five years. She has worked as a classroom teacher, a school administrator, and a K–12 academic dean covering curriculum, credentialing, testing, and accreditation. Lynne contracts with schools across the United States and internationally for consulting and project management, particularly in curriculum development, professional development workshops, and accreditation processes.
Angela Ruiz, PhD, leads the academic operations at Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis, IN, with responsibility for students, educators and principals. Angela is a certified academic leader with over twenty years of experience in the K–12 schools. Her education experience includes Academic Director, Director of Curriculum, building level administrator, Title One director, classroom teacher, school improvement leader, science specialist and a high abilities coach. Cited by the Department of Education as an influential educator to watch, Angela empowers educators with the skills needed to drive success in the classroom with mastery teaching and assessment that drives instruction.
