Safety efforts earn district a “2013 Safety Excellence Award”

For the fourth consecutive year, Marcellus Central School District has received a 2013 School Safety Excellence Award from the Utica National Insurance Group.

Marcellus was one of 121 school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services in the state to receive the “2013 School Safety Excellence Award” from Utica National officials, during the group’s 33rd annual school safety seminar.

Marcellus once again achieved the “Titanium level with honors,” which is the highest award level given in recognition of a district’s safety efforts and includes a $500 cash prize. The award program has three levels (titanium, platinum, and gold) in which schools can earn a meritorious distinction.

In the past, the school district has used the prize money to buy safety rugs, emblazoned with “Marcellus Central Schools – Recognized for Safety Excellence,” for school entrances. 

“It’s gratifying to have the outstanding efforts of our Marcellus teachers, staff, school resources officers and building administrators recognized by the district’s insurance carrier,”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Craig J. Tice said. “Each embodies the district’s unwavering commitment to the safety to our students.”

Utica insures more than 300 school districts in upstate New York for property and liability insurance and is one of the leading companies in the field.

“Safety and health concerns are a priority in our school districts. Whether we are parents seeing our child off on the school bus, teachers charged with the responsibility of educating, or staff who maintain the facility, there is a common thread of attention to safety issues,” said Mark Aquino, Utica National’s regional manager for risk management. “It is with great pleasure that we recognize those schools that not only take safety to heart, butgo above and beyond to provide a safe, healthy, and focused culture for learning.”

Utica National’s School Safety Excellence Award Program helps participating schools enhance overall safety through measurable assessment. The program evaluates schools with their own transportation on 19 categories, schools with contract transportation on 18 categories and BOCES on 14 categories, from bullying prevention to playground safety, with specific, quantifiable, data-gathering surveys.

“The payoff goes beyond recognition — if our program is followed properly, it should enable schools to pinpoint specific threats to safety,” Mr. Aquino said.