NEWS RELEASE
CAA SOUTH CENTRAL ONTARIO
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CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO) is proud to recognize one of its CAA School Safety Patrol (SSP) program police partners, the Barrie Police Service (BPS), for their outstanding contribution and dedication to the program.
“The Barrie Police Service continuously works to create and maintain positive relationships with their schools and ensure that their students are engaged in this long-standing program,” says Leslie Rocha, community program consultant. “While there was a reduction of schools and student participation due to the pandemic, their team took this as an opportunity to improve their training processes creating a more efficient way to manage the program training.”
In Barrie, the SSP program has been in operation for 60 years and has 19 schools with approximately 400 students participating while continuing to grow each year.
“The Barrie Police Service is honoured to be recognized by CAA as the recipients of their School Safety Patrol Program Achievement Award. This award symbolizes the importance of the program and assures that the volunteer student patrollers are able to help promote school zone safety amongst their peers and in the community,” says Kimberley Greenwood, Barrie police chief. “This partnership with the CAA is one that will continue to promote student safety for years to come and really is a win-win situation for everyone involved.”
Alongside BPS, Special Const. Shannon Calladine was recognized for her work in delivering the SSP program and for her commitment to her students.
With only one special constable in the unit, Calladine provided safety patrol training on her own throughout the 2021-2022 school year. To make the program more accessible to schools during the pandemic, Calladine found creative ways to offer training like using cohorts, outdoor Q&A sessions and, if needed, reattended schools to provide training to students who missed a training session due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The award given to the Barrie Police Service is one of two provincial partner achievement awards that CAA hands out annually to celebrate the success of an active program and its continual partnerships.
CAA takes the safety of children and pedestrians very seriously and works closely with school boards, teachers, police services, busing consortiums and bus operators.
The CAA School Safety Patrol program has helped keep students safe in school zones since the 1920s by assisting at school crossings and on school buses. Every year, approximately 900 schools in Ontario participate in the CAA School Safety Patrol program and CAA SCO partners with over 50 local partners to deliver the program. For more information, visit www.caaschoolsafetypatrol.com.
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