While they are helping to keep your child safe while in class, school resource officers are doing a lot more for them as they get older. A 2019 study at Canada’s Carleton University showed a reduction of the likelihood that a student will get a criminal record and increases the chances they will get the help they need from social service and health care systems. They also increase the feelings of safety among students and staff. Two Kewaunee County Sheriff’s deputies are deployed as school resource officers at Luxemburg-Casco School District and Sheriff Matt Joskisays it takes special people to take on the role.
While Algoma, Kewaunee, and Sturgeon Bay rely on their local police departments for their school resource officers, Sevastopol, Gibraltar, and Southern Door work with the Door County Sheriff’s Department for theirs. Earlier this month was National School Resource Officer Day.
FROM SHERIFF JOSKI
As I continue in providing information on the annual operations of the Sheriff’s Department, I feel this is a great time to focus on the amazing school liaison resources which we share with our school districts. If we look at the makeup of our community on any given week day, there is no greater concentration of people and activity than that of our schools. It is fitting that we allocate resources to these important members of our community; our students, in a setting which has such a great impact on their current and future lives.
As it pertains to the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department, we provide two School Liaison Deputies to the Luxemburg / Casco School District as part of a contract for services. These positions and their duties are quite unique and the skill set necessary to be successful is also unique. We are very fortunate to have the two Deputies we currently provide to the school who possess the very traits and qualities to make this a successful relationship. Deputy Nia DuBois is our School Liaison Deputy for the High School, and Deputy Dana Schopf is our Liaison Deputy for the Primary, Intermediate and Middle Schools. Both of these young ladies bring with them a great deal of energy and passion for working with our youth, and the relationships they have built over the years has been a great benefit to not only the students, but the staff as well.
Just as in any community, those school communities experience a great diversity in personalities, backgrounds and behaviors. The ability to have a law enforcement resource at hand when incidents arise has proven essential time and time again.
Another valuable aspect of this program is the ability for our Deputies to have daily interaction and engagement in a positive way to demonstrate that the men and women serving in law enforcement are in fact human beings who can serve as not just a resource for filing complaints or conducting investigations, but also as a trusted resource of advice and mentorship for the many challenges our young people face day in and day out.
These roles, while rewarding, are probably some of the most demanding in our department. The complaints they are called to investigate and the sensitivity that they must show require a great deal of empathy, compassion and patience. The ability to interact effectively with Students, staff and parents is key to maintaining the trust needed for such a program to be successful. Thank you Nia and Dana for all that you do in our schools to keep our students safe and assist the staff in creating the best learning environment possible.
