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Tacondo Elementary School achieves a perfect five-star rating under the Star Rating for Schools program, which evaluates road safety initiatives that protect children from road crashes
ANGELES CITY, Philippines – Some 1,181 elementary students of Tacondo Elementary School in Angeles City, Pampanga, are now safer at school after the institution was officially recognized as one of the safest schools in the country for its road safety measures.
The school, located in Barangay Margot, achieved a perfect five-star rating under the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) program which evaluates road safety initiatives which includes pedestrian lanes, road markings and signages, and visible railings to protect students from road accidents.
The SR4S is a program adopted globally to assess and address risks children face on their journey to and from school.
School principal Cherry Hipolito said proper training and continuous learning and reorientation for staff, students, and parents are important to effectively use road safety signs and maintain these measures.
“With this recognition, we have improved from a 2.5-star rating to a 5-star rating, ensuring that our 1,181 learners are safe as they enter and exit our school,” Hipolito said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Angeles City Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting said the recognition was the result of two years of collaboration. Since 2022, the city government has worked with the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) Philippines, and civil society organization Imagine Law to calibrate its ordinance and secure funding for infrastructure improvement, signages, and other road safety measures.
In February 2023, the city government enacted Ordinance No. 663, series of 2023 or the Road Safety Code, which establishes road safety measures and outlines penalties for violations in the city.
“King road safety, deng egana-ganang requirements na kailangan banta maging safe la reng students tamu king dalan, atchu ne. Mahulaga ya ini uling it highlights itang masanting na relationship ning private and public, itang partnership da. At the same time, itang pinaka main goal na maging safe la reng anak tamu,” Cabigting said.
(On road safety, every requirement that is needed to keep our students safe on their way to school and back to their homes, is already here. This is important as it highlights a great relationship between private and public, their partnership. At the same time, our main goal is to keep our children safe.)
“Apart from the ordinance na gewa mi, itang implementation importanti ya rin. Kailangan itang education, enforcement, and engineering. So we will do that as our commitment keng road safety para kareng anak tamu,” Cabigting added.
(Apart from the ordinance, the implementation is also important. There has to be education, enforcement and engineering. So we will do that as our commitment on road safety for our children.)
Imagine Law, Unicef’s implementing partner, initiated the program with the local government units through training and discussions to help assess school environments based on international standards.
Imagine Law’s road safety project manager Reina Fabregas encouraged other local governments to partner with Unicef in developing road safety ordinances and training to improve road safety for their students. – Rappler.com
