Anne Arundel County School Joins AAA In National Celebration

Anne Arundel County School Joins National Celebration Of AAA School Safety Patrol

World's Largest School-Based Safety Program Is

100 Years Old

ODENTON, MD (October 6, 2021) - For 100 years, AAA School Safety Patrollers around the world have provided school-aged children an extra sense of safety and security when going to and from school. Today, AAA Safety Patrollers at Waugh Chapel Elementary School in Odenton, Maryland joined schools across the country to mark the centennial of this leadership-building and life-saving program, by raising a special School Safety Patrol flag to mark the 100th anniversary of the program and participating in other activities to celebrate.

"Waugh Chapel has enjoyed participating in the AAA Safety Patrol program for many years,” said Kimberly Fitzmaurice, AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor at Waugh Chapel Elementary School. “The students were really excited to be a part of this 100th Anniversary milestone!"

Waugh Chapel Elementary was recognized earlier this year as the first Maryland school to be selected by AAA for Outstanding Safety Patrol Advisor (s) of the Year. The school was also honored in 2019 with an Outstanding School Safety Patroller of the Year award.

The 2021–22 school year boasts 679,000 Patrollers in 35,000 schools in the United States. The legacy doesn’t stop here, however. Over the last 100 years, interest in and excitement for the program have spread around the world. The AAA model has been adopted in at least 30 other countries, including England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Approximately 700 elementary schools in Maryland participate in the AAA Safety Patrol program.

Created to make schoolchildren safer while walking to school, the program has grown-up and matured with the times while remaining steadfast to its mission to provide a safer environment and leadership opportunities for millions of schoolchildren. Started as a boys-only initiative when horses and buggies were still a transportation mode, the program evolved to include girls.

The training that Patrollers receive instills a sense of safety beyond street crossings, including bus and car drop-offs, monitoring hallway congestion, and teaching Patrollers invaluable leadership skills.

The program and its more than 440 Lifesaving Award recipients have contributed to the steady decline of U.S. student pedestrian (ages 5–14) deaths—a 24% decrease since 2010.

"The significance of the AAA School Safety Patrol cannot be overstated," said Ragina C. Ali, Public and Government Affairs Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic in Maryland and Washington, D.C. "From saving lives, to instilling leadership skills in thousands of students who have gone on to serve as community leaders, astronauts, Supreme Court Justices, and even U.S. Presidents, the AAA School Safety Patrol Program continues to play an important role in keeping kids safe, teaching them responsibility and developing young leaders,” said Ali.

Since 1920, AAA has provided various equipment and education materials to Patrollers, including reflective belts, patrol badges and training resources. To learn how to bring the AAA School Safety Patrol to your school, email SchoolSafetyPatrol@national.aaa.com.