Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES recently received the Utica National Insurance Company's Titanium with Honors Safety Award for at least the fifth year in a row.
The honor is presented annually and recognizes school districts’ and BOCES’ safety efforts as they work to help keep students, staff and visitors safe.
“Safety and health concerns continue to be a priority in our school districts,” said Brian Saville, senior vice president in Utica National's Educational Institutions Unit. “Districts that go ‘above and beyond’ to provide a safe, healthy and focused culture for learning are to be applauded, and we're pleased to count Herkimer-Fulton-HamiltonOtsego BOCES among them.”
Herkimer BOCES received its award at Utica National’s 40th school safety seminar, one of seven such seminars the company hosts in the state. Herkimer BOCES officials accepted a certificate to commemorate the BOCES’ safety efforts and a $500 award for use in furthering those efforts from Utica National representatives.
For more than 45 years, Utica National has kept kids and school staff safe and currently insures more than 300 school districts in Upstate New York alone.
Utica National's School Safety Excellence Award Program has three levels – titanium, platinum, and gold – in which schools can earn a meritorious distinction by meeting specific criteria to enhance overall safety. Through the program, schools with their own transportation, schools with contract transportation and BOCES are evaluated. Categories covered include bullying prevention programs, playground safety and other areas, and are measured using specific, quantifiable surveys.
Saville noted that, beyond the recognition itself, an added benefit of following the safety program is the chance to pinpoint specific threats to safety.
“The time to address those threats is before a loss happens, which really helps contribute to the safety culture that districts are working toward,” Saville said.
The Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Safety Services team poses with the Utica National Insurance Company’s 2022 Titanium with Honors Safety Award. From left: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Coordinator Kellie Maxwell, Supervisor of Safety Services Adam Hutchinson, Office Assistant Briana Jackson and School Safety Advisor James Garcia.