Towards the end of last school year, Amanda Sechrist found out she was one of five grand price recipients in a grant opportunity.

On Thursday, the results of that win became tangible. Sechrist is an exceptional children’s teacher at B.H. Tharrington Primary School. She is the proud owner of a newly-refurbished classroom thanks to the grant sponsored by Honeywell and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Sechrist and four other teachers in the country received the $10,000 classroom makeover based on their commitment to keeping children safer from abduction and sexual exploitation as part of the Got 2B Safe campaign.

Sechrist had her students create a pretend town called “Got 2B Safetyville” which used the program’s four rules of safety, including check first, go with a friend, it’s my body and tell a trusted adult. They made posters based on safety scenarios and turned refrigerator boxes into Safetyville stations. Sechrist then invited community members such as police officers, firefighters, teachers, parents and social workers to visit the class and read grade-appropriate stories dealing with safety.

“We are proud of Amanda’s work to raise awareness for this critical issue,” said Rich Faranda, regional sales manager for Honeywell, noting how Sechrist was able to convert the program to apply to special needs students.

Mayor Jack Loftis was one of the many people in attendance at the unveiling, including members of the police department, area business leaders and school administrators and board of education representatives. Loftis read a proclamation in Sechrist’s honor, proclaiming Aug. 20, 2009, to be Got 2B Safe Child Safety Day in the city of Mount Airy.

Sechrist was not the only one to get a first look at the new room. Her students were at the school for open house and were able to experience the unveiling before classes begin on Tuesday. They walked around the room, trying out all of the new materials from tables and chairs to a new reading area to the presence of street signs with each of their names hung around the room.

“I really am pleased with it,” said Sechrist of the room. “It is visually stimulating, but I can also use these materials to help my students learn. It’s so nice to have these shiny new products. I’m pleased with it, but more importantly, the students are. My students see all of these important people here for them. They are the best in the world, and I love them so much.”

Sechrist created the self-contained exceptional children’s classroom when she started at the school last fall.

“We are extremely fortunate here at Tharrington to have Amanda Sechrist,” said Principal Lydia Lovell. “She cares about children and she’s truly interested in everything they do. She has done so very much for this school.”

This grant was created because of the alarming statistics involving children who go missing or are exploited in the world. It rewards teachers who go to innovative measures to ensure their students’ safety both in the classroom as well as out. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 797,500 children were reported missing during a one year time period.

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.