The student is awarded for their dedication to legendary program during the school year
EDMOND, OK — AAA proudly announces an Edmond student has been selected as one of this year’s Outstanding School Safety Patroller for Oklahoma. Max Hathaway, a fifth grader at Heritage Elementary School, has been selected for the honor. Like thousands of his peers across the county, Max has remained committed to keeping his fellow students safe and being a positive leader in his school community. That commitment shown by Max and the Heritage school community is part of the legacy of the AAA School Safety program.
“Max is exemplary in everything that he does,” said Heritage Elementary fifth grade teacher and safety patrol advisor, Gena Schuck. “He always has a smile on his face, shows up every day for his position, offers to help everyone in any way that he can, has excellent grades, and is a genuinely nice person. He is one of those natural leaders who is always there helping and leading through his actions.”
It’s the exemplary leadership of students like Max and countless others that have made the legacy program so impactful for decades. Created to make school children 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. The training that patrollers receive instills safety sense beyond street crossings, including bus and car drop-offs, monitoring hallway congestion, and teaching patrollers invaluable leadership skills.
“Students continue to rise to the challenge for School Safety Patrol; advisors and patrollers have risen to the challenge of keeping students safe,” said AAA Public Affairs Manager, Rylie Fletcher. “Their actions save lives. Patrollers serve as role models across the county.”
The leadership values and safety awareness have inspired many alumnus patrollers to pursue admirable careers, including Presidents of the United States, astronauts, governors, Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, Olympic medalists, and authors, like Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney. Many patrollers now serve as educators, executives, and community leaders.
For more than 100 years, interest in and excitement for the program has 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.
Since 1920, AAA provides various equipment and education materials to patrollers, including reflective belts, patrol badges and training resources.