FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
January 27, 2020
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Presents Orange Beach Elementary School with 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall today presented Orange Beach Elementary School in Baldwin County with the Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence, South District. Orange Beach Elementary School previously received the Attorney General’s Safe School Award in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 for School Board District 1. The Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence received today is a new distinction reserved for only three schools throughout the state that received highest marks for safety.
Schools were selected as winners of the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award from each of the eight state school board districts as well as one private school statewide. In addition, three schools were selected for the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence and 61 schools were selected for the Attorney General’s 2019 Certificate of Building a Culture for School Safety.
“The safety of our schoolchildren is a vital matter foremost in all of our minds and hearts, and this year we have enhanced the Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Awards to encourage and honor more of those who have implemented strong programs to protect our students, teachers and other staff,” said Attorney General Marshall. “These schools have developed innovative programs and taken practical, effective steps to combat the threat of violence that has become a terrible part of our modern society. Their dedication and resolve to provide a
safe haven for learning is an inspiration to us all.”
In presenting the award today Attorney General Marshall said, “The Attorney General’s Office is proud that Orange Beach Elementary School was selected as one of three schools in Alabama to receive the 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence. In making this decision, judges noted many things that distinguished Orange Beach Elementary School: excellent collaboration with law enforcement officers for camera placement, strong active shooter
response and on-campus training, heavily-involved school resource officer, a panic button for all staff and security fencing for the school.
Principal Ryan Moss said, “Orange Beach Elementary School is honored and humbled to receive the 2019 Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Award of Excellence for South Region. We would like to compliment and thank the consistent efforts for this wonderful TEAM honor as many parts, people and stakeholders go into play for this endeavor. Please allow me to congratulate and compliment all of the students, staff and teachers here at OBES that strive each and every day to ensure that Orange Beach Elementary School is a safe and warm
environment to learn, work and visit as well. We would also like to thank our
Superintendent Mr. Tyler and his senior staff, the Baldwin County Board of Education, Mayor Kennon and the City Council of Orange Beach, our School Resource Officer Corporal Lowery, and all of our fire department, police department, and first responder personnel for their vital roles to the commitment for school safety here at Orange Beach Elementary School.”
In coming weeks, Attorney General Marshall is presenting the Safe School Award to nine winning schools throughout Alabama, as well the Safe School Award of Excellence to the state’s top three schools overall.
For the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award, one public school with the top score was selected for each of the eight state public school districts and one private school statewide. These winners are District 1: Pleasant Home School, Andalusia; District 2: Loachapoka High School, Loachapoka; District 3: Shades Mountain Elementary School, Hoover; District 4: Northridge Middle School, Tuscaloosa; District 5; Prattville Junior High School, Prattville; District 6: Austin High School, Decatur; District 7: Forest Hills Elementary, Florence; District 8: Discovery Middle School, Madison; and private school: Lee-Scott Academy, Auburn. Attorney General Marshall will visit these schools to present
the awards in person.
For the Attorney General’s 2019 Safe School Award of Excellence, one public school with the top overall score was selected from the North, Central and South regions of Alabama. Attorney General Marshall will visit each school to present the award in person. These winners are North Region: Decatur Middle School, Decatur; Central Region: Westlawn Middle School, Tuscaloosa; and South Region: Orange Beach Elementary School, Orange Beach.
Winners were selected by a panel of independent judges who reviewed submissions from a total of 124 schools. A list of schools that received the Attorney General’s 2019 Certificate of Building a Culture for School Safety may be found in the Attorney General’s news release of December 19, 2019, available through this link.
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