City recognizes School Safety and Education Officers with STARS Awards

A group of sixteen School Safety and Education Officers (SSEO) with the Murfreesboro Police Department received STARS Awards in September for going above and beyond in their jobs as City employees.

They are Officer Brice Robbins, Officer Chris Williams, Officer Larry Maples, Officer Bill Drye, Officer Barbara King, Officer Stephen Luter, Officer Skyler Harris, Officer Austin Ernst, Officer Cole Glass, Officer Matt Vaughn, Officer Phillip Taylor, Officer Jay Radzinski, Officer Stan Meeks, Officer Ava Radley, current SSEO supervisor Sgt. Scott Newberg and Sgt. Greg Walker, who supervised the program from 2006 until the Spring of 2018.

The City recognized the group of Public Safety employees in the Murfreesboro Police Department for demonstrating exemplary service in the job they perform daily to keep Murfreesboro City Schools safe. Mayor Shane McFarland recognized the Public Safety employees during the Sept. 20, 2018, meeting of the Murfreesboro City Council with the STARS award for Outstanding Performance: “Succeeding Through Attitudes Reflecting Service Excellence.”

In the nomination narrative presented to the STARS Committee, Aug. 29, 2018, School Superintendent Linda Gilbert stated her reason for nominating the employees,

“Demonstrated exemplary service (e.g. cooperation, courtesy, responsiveness, support, empathy, etc.), Increased the city’s ability to provide more effective service to the community. Represented the city in a positive light, exhibiting the core values and “creating a better quality of life.” Although we have only been in school for a couple of weeks, I have heard so many comments from principals about how helpful the officers have been. Last week at Principals’ Meeting, I asked each principal, “Among the many successes of the first week of school, what is one you would consider the greatest?” Of all the possibilities, at least two principals responded the SSEOs. In addition, the chatter on Facebook has been great. The SSEO’s are doing exactly what the Council and Murfreesboro’s citizens had hoped. Not only are they keeping the schools safe, but they are making a difference in the lives of children. They are regularly checking the perimeter and doors of each school; help with arrivals, dismissals, and during-the-day transitions; encourage school attendance; train with the school staff regarding restorative practices, cultural competency, and more; and model positive adult-child relationships. They epitomize what it means to create a better quality of life. They are indeed, STARS of Murfreesboro.”

The STARS Service Excellence program is intended to recognize outstanding employees who embody the city’s standards for service excellence and exemplify the city’s core service values. The purpose of the STARS award is to recognize and reward those employees who go above and beyond their normal job duties in providing outstanding customer service to internal and external customers.

Congratulations to the School Safety and Education Officers (SSEO) for being named recipients of the STARS Award for Outstanding Performance.