Waite Park School Patrol Supervisor Extraordinaire Steve Holm Retires

Just about every elementary school has a school patrol to assist students with street crossing before and after school. But for the past 23 years, under the direction of Fourth Grade teacher Steve Holm, Waite Park School has taken school patrol to a level of professionalism rarely seen.

Holm says Kindergarteners and First Graders routinely come up to him to tell him they plan to be patrols when they get to Fourth and Fifth Grade. When they do, they'll have to go through an application process, including a staff review, for one of the thirty elite positions. After the patrols are selected, they go through several trainings during the year. Young people who want to be Patrol Captains face even more rigorous selection and training, including attending a safety training camp at Legionville School Patrol Safety Training Center in Burnsville.

The hard work of being on the Waite Park Patrol has its perks also. The members get rewarded with four fieldtrips over the course of the year, including a visit to Valley Fair and a laser tag/bowling/pizza outing.

These young people take their jobs seriously. A few years ago they contacted Council Member Reich and asked for a meeting to discuss traffic and safety issues at the intersection of 34th and Johnson Street NE. After explaining their concerns and discussing various traffic calming options, it was decided to install curb bump outs at the corners. Holm said that this design feature, which allows patrol flags to extend out into the traffic lane, has reduced his patrols' reports of safety concerns significantly.

Steve Holm just retired from supervising the school patrol, although he'll continue teaching Fourth Grade.