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Student-led public safety campaign launched in Pueblo

Posted at 8:30 PM, Sep 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-17 10:21:44-04

PUEBLO — KOAA News5 is recognizing students who are going above and beyond in their academics or in their community.

A group of students from Pueblo School District 60 recently made it their mission to help protect the community during the pandemic. They're doing so by launching a public safety campaign on social media called "Protect Pueblo."

Will Highfill, a senior at South High School, came up with the idea in June and brought it to the attention of the school district. Since then, he's gotten virtual help and support of 30 other local students in the district to help him run with the campaign. He says it's a platform for students to communicate with other students and make a difference while COVID restrictions are in place.

"It's no secret this pandemic has been hard on everyone," Highfill said. "But as students, we've missed a great chunk of our education. We had to switch online learning and now that we're back in school, it's a different experience."

Every week, Highfill comes up with a theme and asks the students to create content about things like washing your hands properly, wearing a mask properly, making a mask at home, or how to protect yourself when sporting events return.

The D60 student-led organization works closely with the school district and health department to ensure their information is accurate before posting.

"For a long time we've tried to figure out how we can better communicate to our students," said Dalton Sprouse, the communication director for D60 and district employee who is working with the students. "And what more beautiful way than to have students working with us, to really reach out."

The content is shared weekly on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. For Highfill, he hopes the movement will continue even when COVID restrictions lift.

"I just want to give students a platform and a hashtag to use to talk to each other, to their families, and to their school," Highfill said.