AAA Recognizes Friendship Woodridge International School Student

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 16, 2024) - AAA recently recognized 2023-2024 AAA Outstanding School Safety Patroller winner, Savion Stamps. Savion is an eighth grader at Friendship Woodridge International School in Washington, D.C. He was nominated for this honor, by his AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor, Krystle Lake, for his exemplary leadership qualities. Like thousands of her peers across the country, Savion has remained committed to keeping his fellow students safe and being a positive role model at his school.

“Savion communicates effectively and exemplifies responsibility, integrity and leadership,” said Ms. Lake. “His unwavering commitment to the safety patrol program and well-being of our school community is truly commendable.”

For more than 100 years, the AAA School Safety Patrol has been the world’s largest school-based safety program. Patrollers around the world provide school-aged children an extra sense of safety and security during the school day’s busiest times: arrival and dismissal. As a peer-to-peer leadership development program, Safety Patrols are trained to recognize safety hazards to ensure a safer school environment. The presence of a AAA School Safety Patroller wearing the familiar belt and badge is a nationally recognized symbol representing more than 679,000 children throughout the country who participate in the program each year.

“It’s the dedication and leadership of students like Savion and countless others that have made the AAA School Safety Patrol program so impactful for decades, “ said Ragina Cooper Ali, Public and Government Affairs Manager at AAA Mid-Atlantic.

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. 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.

“AAA is proud to support this critical safety program in Washington, D.C. and at schools across the country,” Ali added. “We provide these young people with training tools to help make their school safer. We are impressed with their leadership and initiative in implementing safety changes and improvements at their schools."

The leadership values and safety awareness have inspired many former 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.

Since 1920, AAA has been providing various equipment and education materials to patrollers, including reflective belts, patrol badges and training resources. The AAA model has been adopted in at least 30 other countries, including England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.