Glenarden Woods Elementary Student Recently Honored by AAA

Glenarden, MD (July 18, 2024) - AAA recently recognized 2023-2024 AAA Outstanding School Safety Patroller winner, Ethan Weston. Ethan is a fifth grader at Glenarden Woods Elementary School in Prince George’s County. He was nominated for this honor by his AAA School Safety Patrol Advisor, Shaquella Figueroa, for his exemplary leadership qualities. Like thousands of her peers across the country, Ethan has remained committed to keeping his fellow students safe and being a positive role model at his school.

“Ethan exemplifies an outstanding leadership style, characterized by a natural ability to inspire and set positive examples for peers,” said Shaquella Figueroa.

As a Captain with the School Safety Patroller Program, Ethan consistently takes the initiative and demonstrates dedication and commitment. In an effort to foster inclusivity, Ethan delivers the morning announcements in Spanish, “ensuring that all students feel represented and informed,” Figueroa added.

Ethan’s leadership has been acknowledged by his teachers and peers. Fellow students and patrollers commended Ethan’s exceptional work ethic and dedication to ensuring the safety of everyone.

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 Ethan 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 Maryland 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.