Kilgore, Texas - Students with disabilities often face unique challenges when it comes to safety — both in school and in everyday life. Inspired by the national September 26 Project, which honors the lives of Feda and Muhammad Almaliti and their message that “ten minutes every 365 days can save lives,” Region 7 Education Service Center hosted Safety Day 2025 on September 26. The event focused on empowering students with disabilities through hands-on safety education and community collaboration.
Across the nation, millions of students with disabilities live in states that lack emergency preparedness requirements tailored to their needs. Recognizing this gap, Safety Day 2025 provided a proactive approach — offering students real-world safety experiences and the tools to stay safe in their homes and communities.
The event welcomed 27 students, accompanied by 5 teachers, 9 paraprofessionals, and 2 bus drivers, for a full day of interactive learning. Students were grouped into four customized learning tracks — Elementary Beginner, Elementary Advanced, Secondary Beginner, and Secondary Advanced — ensuring that every lesson matched the learner’s level and pace.
Throughout the day, students explored topics such as:
- Household Safety: Recognizing and avoiding common home hazards.
- Medical Safety: Practicing first aid and learning about healthcare tools.
- Fire Safety: Meeting local firefighters and running evacuation drills.
- Water Safety: Understanding how to stay safe near pools and open water.
- Drug Safety: Identifying and avoiding dangerous substances.
- Internet Safety: Building awareness for responsible online behavior.
Students followed individualized visual schedules with picture and text supports to aid transitions and engagement. A ticket exchange and “finish” sticker system encouraged participation — and every student proudly took home a completed schedule as a personal achievement record. Participants also received keepsakes like firefighter hats, safety bracelets, and sticker badges to reinforce what they learned and celebrate their efforts.
Several community partners made this event a success, including: American Red Cross (in collaboration with Dallas Parks & Recreation), Christus Specialty Pediatrics, Longview & Kilgore Fire Departments, Upshur County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security, The Andrews Center, and the East Texas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (ETCADA).
The day was filled with smiles, teamwork, and growth as students built confidence through practice and positive reinforcement. Teachers and community partners alike expressed pride in the students’ progress and enthusiasm.
Images from the day can be seen here.
Region 7 ESC is committed to district, charter, and student success by providing quality programs and services that meet or exceed customer expectations. One of 20 regional education service centers statewide, Region 7 ESC participates in the planning, development, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of innovative educational programs for 94 school districts and 7 charter schools in the counties of Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Nacogdoches, Rains, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Panola, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood. For more information, visit www.esc7.net.
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