CORONADO While schools across the country are banning hats because of possible ties to gangs, Coronado’s Village Elementary is encouraging its students to keep their heads covered.
“We’re wearing hats so we don’t get skin cancer,” fifth-grader Chantal Salazar explained after a special assembly last week where the school, the local parent-teacher group and public safety officials kicked off the “Hats for Health Be Cool in School” program.
Chantal, 10, and about 900 fellow students learned about the program, which encourages students to protect their skin against damaging ultraviolet rays.
Children were taught that 50 percent of skin damage occurs before the age of 18, and that the sun’s ultraviolet rays cause more than 90 percent of all skin cancers.
Read the entire Union Tribune article (and see photos) here.
