Safety Patrol returns to Harbor Elementary School, many years later

An international program that dates back more than a century is making its return to Seaford Harbor Elementary School this fall.

The School Safety Patrol, which aims to enforce safety rules and guidelines among students, has made its way back to the Harbor school. Approximately 10 fifth grade students were sworn-in as safety officers during a ceremony on Oct. 19.

The AAA-sponsored School Safety Patrol, founded in 1920, works to provide school-aged children with “an extra sense of safety and security when going to and from school,” according to the program’s website. Harbor students will follow an official safety patrol operations manual to guide fellow students.

Assistant Principal Caroline Schozer recently discovered that the school once had a Safety Patrol after she found a photo of the group taken in 1965. Though it’s unknown when the group disbanded, Schozer said in a press release that restarting it has been a goal.

“It builds a sense of community, leadership and responsibility,” Schozer said. “The safety patrol members are helping their fellow Harbor students stay safe.”

Prospective safety patrollers had to go through an application process, Schozer said. Two students were chosen from each fifth-grade class.

The selected members will have assigned posts inside the school during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal. Students will help enforce safety rules and guide students to their destinations.

Each student patroller will receive a sash and a badge. All students will all have the opportunity to serve as captain, lieutenant and sergeant for week periods and additional responsibilities will be delegated to them during their assignment. The group will meet monthly.

Parents were on hand for the outdoor installation ceremony on Oct. 19, where inductees recited a safety oath. Students later joined Schozer and Principal Thomas Burke for a slightly larger recreation of the 1965 photo.