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Utica, New York has launched a new drone school safety pilot program aimed at improving student dismissals and ensuring safer travel for children heading home. By now, most schools across the United States have settled into their daily routine. Greeting students in the morning, nurturing them through the day, and then sending them off in the afternoon. For many schools, one of the most hectic parts of the day is organizing and ensuring students leave in a safe, coordinated manner. Anyone who has ever witnessed a school dismissal knows it can be quite chaotic. Whether students travel by bus, walk, or wait for a pickup, managing the flow of people and vehicles is a major logistical challenge. One New York school district has announced a pilot program using drones to monitor school dismissals.
Utica, New York, lies in Oneida County in central New York State. The Utica City School District operates 13 schools with 9,012 students enrolled in grades K through 12. Utica is a small city with dense neighborhoods, busy streets, and mixed traffic infrastructure. Because many students walk home, dismissal periods present challenges typical of urban settings, such as vehicle congestion, pedestrian crossings, multiple entry and exit points, and limited visibility in some zones. Over the years, the Utica Police Department (UPD) and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) have dealt with a range of incidents during dismissal times that have tested response efforts and highlighted the need for better situational awareness.
Drone School Safety Collaboration Between Agencies
To address these concerns more effectively, the two agencies are collaborating to implement drone technology to monitor school dismissals in real time. “Recently, we’ve seen several incidents during dismissal times that required a significant response from both law enforcement and school personnel,” the UPD and OCSO said in a joint statement. “Using UAVs during this test phase will give us a better understanding of overall patterns and potential areas for improvement.” The project aims not only to observe but to collect data about traffic flow, pedestrian behavior, and points of congestion so that improved protocols can be developed.
Under the pilot program, drones will fly over and around selected school zones during dismissal to provide aerial views of intersections, drop-off and pick-up areas, and walking paths. From this vantage point, law enforcement and school officials plan to evaluate how students move through space, how vehicles queue, and whether existing routes or crossing points present safety issues. The drones will feed live video to a command center where analysts can identify bottlenecks, observe pedestrian clusters, and determine whether changes such as adjusted staging areas or signal timing might reduce risk.
“Using UAVs during this test phase will give us a better understanding of overall patterns and potential areas for improvement.” – Utica Police Department & Oneida County Sheriff’s Office
Utica Police Department using drone technology to monitor school dismissals in real time
Building on Existing Drone Experience
The UPD has operated drones since at least 2015, beginning with a Yuneec Typhoon Q500 model. While its program is smaller in scale, it has provided the department with aerial capabilities for specific operational needs. Building on this early adoption, the OCSO established its Unmanned Aircraft Systems Team in 2019. The team consists of five members licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration and has used drones for a variety of public safety missions, including search and rescue, accident scene documentation, and oversight of large events.
This existing infrastructure and experience have laid the groundwork for expanding drone use into school safety operations. Since both the UPD and OCSO already monitor crowds, traffic, and emergency scenes from the air, applying that capability to dismissal monitoring is a natural progression. The aerial perspective helps cover more ground than foot patrols or fixed cameras, provides early insight into developing issues, and strengthens overall situational awareness.
Model for Future Drone School Safety Programs
If the pilot program proves successful, it could serve as a model for other urban school districts seeking to improve dismissal safety through drone technology. By combining real-time aerial monitoring with on-the-ground coordination, the UPD and OCSO hope to reduce congestion, prevent accidents, and ensure students travel home safely. “The safety of our students, residents, and business owners remains our top priority,” said Utica Mayor Michael P. Galime, “and we’re proud to explore every innovative tool that helps us achieve that.” With drones, the City of Utica is using the latest in advanced technology to support public safety while ensuring students can move through their communities securely and efficiently.
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