We have been working to educate our school on safe driving practices. With this grant we would host a dinner for teens and their parents that would be a night to remember. We would have a dinner free for all who attend (food gets people in the door in our town) and then we would have two guest speakers here to present the statistics and practices that apply to teen drivers. We would then have a skit by our Drama department, games for both teens and parents to work on teamwork and communication, and complete the night with an interactive exercise where parents are instructed on how to teach their teens to drive and how to instill good driving habits in teens, and where the teen and the parents draft a contract with each other and sign it agreeing to safe driving practices and behaviors. There have been many studies that have shown that parents are the number one influence in a teens life, and that if parents take an active role in teaching their teen to drive the teen is more likely to drive safely. This night would be one to remember and would effect not only those teens and parents who came to dinner, but their siblings, the students who help to produce the evening, the adults who supervise the evening and everyone in our community. WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU CAN HELP? As part of this project we are collecting one key for each and every teen that died last year in a car accident. That is over 5,000 keys! We are making a sign with these keys that will hang in our school so that every time a student passes it they will realize how important driving safe really is. If you would like to help by sending in a key or contacting a politician or famous person you know the address for, send all keys to Mansfield High School "Think and Drive Program" <<Contact Information edited out by DS Staff>>. Thank you!