This month, National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) chose The Urbana High School (UHS) Driver Education program as one of its 2020 Project Ignition Grant recipients.
This year is not the first time the UHS program was one of many grant recipients. The UHS Driver Education program is one of 20 schools in the nation selected during the 2018-19 school year to participate in Project Ignition. Project Ignition is a grant program sponsored by the NYLC and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NYLC and NHTSA give select schools $1000 each to promote teen safe driving by changing teen drivers’ attitudes through service-learning.
At Urbana Project Ignition, under the direction of UHS Driver Education Teacher Nathan Watson and behind the wheel instructors Judy Weber-Jones and Randy Blackman, over 20 UHS students have made it their personal mission to save lives by promoting seatbelt usage and eliminating both distracted and reckless driving. Some of the grant funded projects these students are currently working on include: logo creation, web site development, signage design, social media campaign, and the making of a commercial. In addition, Urbana Project Ignition will complete a seat belt check at UHS during the second semester.
If you would like more information about Urbana Project Ignition, please contact UHS Driver Education Teacher and Department Chair, Nathan Watson, at nwatson@usd116.org or (217) 549-8559.