They volunteer... That's what my 4th grader DS told me at least. I know nearly all his friends have been given a patrol belt, and they need to take some kind of quiz in order to be qualified. They all can't wait for the patrol summer camp.

Anonymous wrote:They pick kids who behave, follow rules and who aren't super shy so other kids will listen to them.

My daughter took this job very seriously. She was upset about staying home when she had the lfu because her job was to patrol the K hall and she was worried that they might get hurt if she wasn't there to help them.

Our daughters must be soulmates. My dd is a kindergarten bus patrol and when one of her charges fell and scraped a knee one minute before boarding the bus, my dd was prepared because she’d packed some bandaids in her backpack, just in case.

Last year, at our school, children who wanted to be patrols this year (as fifth graders) had to request references from their 3rd and 4th grade teachers and write an essay about why they’d make a good patrol. Our school is overcrowded and many more children applied than the number of spots they had. So many parents complained when their children weren’t chosen and demanded to know why, that after selections were made, the principal announced that everyone who had applied could do it, but only for half the year because there had been so many applicants. Then the children who had already been made patrols were upset because their duties were cut in half.

Anonymous wrote:Our school requires children to write up why they might be a good patrol but my DS did not want to do it because he thought the "power" might go to his head. Unfortunately, the fifth graders before him were a bit over the top.

Your son must go to our school. I remember those 5th graders.

Anonymous wrote:Our school requires children to write up why they might be a good patrol but my DS did not want to do it because he thought the "power" might go to his head. Unfortunately, the fifth graders before him were a bit over the top.

That is very sweet. Your kid sounds wonderful.

They pick kids who behave, follow rules and who aren't super shy so other kids will listen to them.

My daughter took this job very seriously. She was upset about staying home when she had the lfu because her job was to patrol the K hall and she was worried that they might get hurt if she wasn't there to help them.

Our school requires children to write up why they might be a good patrol but my DS did not want to do it because he thought the "power" might go to his head. Unfortunately, the fifth graders before him were a bit over the top.

Generally, they pick kids who have been observed to be responsible, reliable, and kind to other kids.

I'm pretty sure at our school they just looked for kids who had good grades and good behavior and asked if they were interested.

At our school, interested kids got a copy of a patrol handbook and had to read it and pass a quiz on its contents before being accepted.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know that it’s uniform across schools.

Agreed. There's usually one teacher or staff member in charge of patrols. You'd have to contact them for the specifics.

They sign up.

If they pass the drug screening, a comprehensive background check is conducted. If you have moved in from out of state it can prolong the process as other jurisdictions don't often have a smooth process for transfer of information to MoCo authorities. Once selected, there is a mandatory three-week camp over the summer (fifth graders may be exempt) that covers self defense, archery, and rudimentary firearm training. Children will receive a notarized letter from the Governor of Maryland that they can submit with their college applications.

It's a major award.

I don’t know that it’s uniform across schools.

seriously?

What is the criteria? I am curious.