SANDPOINT — Washington Elementary School could soon have rainbow crosswalks after a group of second-graders took their safety concerns to City Council recently.

"I've never seen a more passionate second-grade class," Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon told council members.

Coon met with the second-graders after they wrote a letter, on a very large sheet of paper, to the city regarding their concerns over safety in the intersections outside their school. The following week, at the March 21 council meeting, second-graders Dakota Landwehr, Blake Bogadi, Colton Dickinson, Carlee Klippel, Addie Emch and Raina Shrestha explained the safety issues and possible solutions to council members.

Safety concerns, which were captured on video by the kids, include cars parked in crosswalks, students and parents not using crosswalks and not listening to crossing guards, snow blocking ramps and crosswalks, faded paint, cars parked illegally and vehicles speeding.

"We have seen parents backing up into the crosswalk; kids are running across the road," Addie said.

Some of the solutions the kids came up with were flashing lights, ticketing violators, repainting red zones, deploying a large radar trailer and, of course, rainbow crosswalks. Another solution to which Coon agreed was to remove paint and signage for the loading zone out front. The area used to be the bus drop off and pick up area, but is no longer used for that purpose, though it is still marked as such. Parents park in the area anyway, and with the signage still there, they are technically parking illegally.

"We want to keep kids safe," Dakota said.

Since he spoke with the kids, Coon said the community resource officers have been over there after school, talking to parents who are blocking crosswalks and the radar trailer would be out soon.

City Council members agreed the rainbow crosswalks, of top priority to the kids, was a good idea. City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said crews would be out painting curbs in April, and that area would be a priority. When asked by Councilwoman Shannon Williamson if they could look into painting the crosswalks at that time, Stapleton said staff would look into it.

Councilman Bill Aitkin, one of three council members who have children at Washington Elementary, praised the kids for bringing the issues to their attention.

"We have watched that and been frustrated by all those things, so thank you for making us aware of it and lighting a fire for us to get something done," Aitkin said.

Ann Dickinson, a sixth-grade teacher at Washington Elementary, took her Design for Change sixth-graders to Spain last year after they were named the United States ambassadors for their work on teen suicide in the community. During the trip, she was inspired by the 6-, 7- and 8-year-olds who presented their concerns on the international stage. It inspired her to work with the younger students, she said, to get them "thinking out of the box" from an early age. So she got together with second-grade teacher Charlene Hitchcock and began working with second-graders for the first time since she started teaching the DFC elective.

"What I love about second-graders is they are so free in their thinking," Dickinson said during a Rotary Club of Sandpoint meeting recently. "They will put any idea out there ... So if we can keep that, cultivate that, it's going to be much better later on for these kids."

The DFC program is catching on at other local schools as well, Dickinson said on Friday. Dickinson said she recently facilitated a workshop with the director and co-director of DFC. The workshop was sponsored by the 7B Drug Free Coalition and Walk for HOPE.

Teachers from Washington, Hope, Northside, Kootenai and Farmin-Stidwell elementary schools, Sandpoint Middle School, Sandpoint High School and Lake Pend Oreille High School participated, as well as community members who are involved with youth, she said, for a total of 23 participants. Two or three teachers from Farmin-Stidwell have already started the DFC process, she said, and LPOHS is planning to begin DFC in the near future.

"I am so excited that Design For Change is growing in our district," Dickinson said in the email.

Dickinson's current DFC sixth-graders are continuing the mission of their predecessors. Their work on suicide prevention led them to start a #YouMatter movement, which includes a clothing line designed by the students. They have also, among other initiatives, met with Sen. Shawn Keough to discuss the lack of facilities and resources in the area for those with mental health issues.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.