It is with great excitement that the Office of Safety and Security shares that the Newark Board of Education, in partnership with AAA, now has an active School Safety Patrol program in all middle school grades! Volunteers for the AAA School Safety Patrol are students from middle, junior, and upper elementary schools who are sponsored by their school. School Safety Patrol members complete training in traffic safety, teach fellow students about traffic safety, and serve in other leadership roles under the direction of school officials. The initial training is conducted by AAA and thereafter, the Office of Safety and Security conducts the follow-up training with all patrols to ensure compliance and provide additional support.
Patrollers help direct students, not traffic. On a peer-to-peer basis, patrol members teach other students about traffic safety as school-age leaders in the field. Additionally, younger students look up to them as role models. Quoted by Executive Director of Security Services, Levi Holmes, “Our program teaches students civil responsibilities and fosters opportunities to have an impact on their community.” School Safety Patrol responsibilities include ingress and egress process, lunch patrol, ushering during events, and monitoring student activity. Students are excited about participating in this leadership opportunity and wear their brightly colored belt with great pride!