William Kinne鈥檚 mom was a safety patrol while she was a student in Fairfax County, and he admired his older sister, who served as a safety patrol at Canterbury Woods Elementary School where he attends.
He described her efforts as 鈥渃ool,鈥� and noticed she emerged as a leader on the Annandale school campus. He hoped to be a leader too.
Kinne filled out an application and received a recommendation from a teacher. He eventually emerged as one of the over 100 kids at the school who seek to help during the bus and car arrival and dismissal process in the mornings and afternoons.
On Tuesday night, Kinne was recognized as AAA鈥檚 Safety Patroller of the Year. It marks the second consecutive year a student at the school has received the honor.
鈥淚 get to know that I鈥檓 making a difference in my school and keeping people safe,鈥� Kinne told WTOP.
As a sixth grader, Kinne finished his last-ever safety patrol shift Wednesday afternoon. He shouted call numbers into a crowd of students, escorting them to their parents鈥� cars and wishing them a great summer break.
In the mornings, he oversaw the unloading process and stopped cars in line from moving when students need to cross the street to enter the school building. In the afternoons, he shouted numbers and alerted school staff if a student hadn鈥檛 responded to being called.
Other safety patrols ride the bus and report anything of concern to the driver. Some hold signs so students know where their bus is physically located or work with crossing guards to make sure kids are crossing safely.
鈥淭hey listen to him,鈥� Principal Leslie Malkowski said. 鈥淵ou can tell that he is a leader because the way he can talk to the students and the way that they respond when he says something just shows that he has that natural leadership.鈥�
School staff is still struck by how Kinne handled working with students in the aftermath of January鈥檚 winter storm, which left snowcrete behind. Some kids picked up the snow and threw it at cars, Kinne said.
鈥淥ne time I had to jump in front of a car, so it would stop for the kids, because they couldn鈥檛 really see them, so that was kind of scary,鈥� he said.
In another instance, school was dismissed early 鈥渇or some crazy wind, and for that, we kind of had to rush everyone out, which got a little crazy,鈥� Kinne said.
The school鈥檚 safety patrol sponsor recommended Kinne for the AAA award as he was honored during the sixth grade promotion ceremony. School leaders learned about the recognition in advance, as did his parents.
But when Kinne stood up to accept the award, he was overcome with joy.
鈥淗is peers all erupted and cheered for him, because you could tell that he鈥檚 very deserving, and all of his peers felt the same,鈥� Malkowski said.
Meanwhile, his mom, Lauren Kinne, said the experience as a safety patrol helped Will realize the importance of helping others.
鈥淏eing kind, being helpful, being empathetic are just some of the most important qualities you can have,鈥� Lauren Kinne said.
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