HOOVER, Ala., March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF) and The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) are looking for school resource officers (SROs) who are using innovative methods to teach students about safe driving behavior. They announced that nominations are now open for the 2023 Innovation in the Classroom Award.
The recipient of the Innovation in the Classroom Award will be honored with a choice of prizes including registration and travel to the NASRO National School Safety Conference in Indianapolis in July or registration and travel to one of several for-credit training programs run by NASRO throughout the year. The winner will also be invited to present to participants at the NASRO National School Safety Conference and will be featured in the fall issue of the Journal of School Safety.
“The Innovation in the Classroom program is a way to identify and reward teaching excellence in traffic safety, as well as share best practices with school resource officers in classrooms nationwide,” said Mo Canady, executive director of NASRO.
“School resource officers can have a life-long impact on young people and how they drive,” said Michelle Anderson of The National Road Safety Foundation, a non-profit group that partners with NASRO and provides funding for the Innovation in the Classroom prizes. “The behavior that SROs encourage helps keep students safe as they learn to drive or, for the younger ones, as they observe driving behavior.”
Nominations may be made by submitting a brief video explaining the SRO’s teaching techniques and why they are effective. Nomination deadline is April 7, 2023. Details and rules are at https://www.nasro.org/conference/award-nominations/.
Last year’s honoree was Deputy Sheriff John Shallenberger of Tazewell County, IL. Dep. Shallenberger is a founding member and currently chairs the Tazewell Teen Initiative, which runs Operation Teen Safe Driving, a multifaceted safety education program in all seven county high schools that has been expanded statewide into 105 schools.
National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) is the world’s leader in school-based policing, is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 for school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators and school security and/or safety professionals who work as partners to protect schools and their students, faculty and staff members. NASRO developed the “triad” concept of school-based policing, which divides SRO responsibilities into three areas: educator, informal counselor/mentor and law enforcement officer. By training law enforcement officers to educate, counsel and protect school communities, the more than 3,000 men and women of NASRO continuously lead by example and promote a positive image of law enforcement to school children and school communities. For more information, go to www.nasro.org
The National Road Safety Foundation, Inc. (NRSF) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that for more than 60 years has been dedicated to reducing crashes, deaths and injuries on our nation’s highways by promoting safe driving habits through greater public awareness. NRSF programs deal with distracted driving, speed and aggression, impaired driving, drowsy driving, driver proficiency and pedestrian safety. The Foundation also works with major youth advocacy groups and sponsors contests to engage teens in promoting safe driving to their peers and in their communities. For more information or to download free programs, visit www.nrsf.org.
Media Contact:
David Reich
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SOURCE The National Road Safety Foundation
