Study Hall from School News Network
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Study Hall from School News Network
School resource officers vow to provide students ‘a safe place’
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As schools have become ever more concerned with the safety and security of their students, school resource officers have taken on an increasingly important role. Public law enforcement officers trained to work in schools, SROs provide not just protection against bad actors but day-to-day support for students dealing with personal problems, from family issues to medical conditions. We talk with SROs Jon LaSotta and Chad Wells, Kent County sheriff’s deputies whose beat is the hallways of Kent City Community Schools.
For more great stories about the changes and challenges of school districts in West Michigan, check out our website, School News Network.org. And if you have ideas for future programs, feel free to send them to us at SNN@kentisd.org. Thanks for listening, and happy studying!
Welcome To Kent City Schools
SPEAKER_02Well, hello everyone, and welcome to Study Hall from School News Network. I'm your host, Charlie Honey, here along with Max Wickland, our sound guy extraordinaire. And we're here today at Kent City High School in far northern Kent County to talk with two law enforcement officers who help keep students safe in this rural school district. John Lasoda and Chad Wills are school resource officers who serve Kent City's 1,200-plus students in the district's elementary, middle, and high schools. They are Kent County Sheriff's Deputies, and their beat is the hallways of Kent City Community Schools. School resource officers, or SROs, as they're often called, are law enforcement officers specifically trained to work in schools. Their role is to provide security, support students, and respond quickly in crisis situations. They have arrest powers and carry arms, but their work is much more personal than this summary suggests. Deputies Lesota and Wells are among some 30 school resource officers working in Kent County public schools, with nearly all of the county's 20 districts employing SROs. The majority are Kent County Sheriff's Deputies. Some are also supplied by local police departments. According to the National Association of School Resource Officers, there were approximately 23,400 SROs working in U.S. schools as of the 2019-2020 school year. The prevalence of SROs in schools has increased significantly over the past 30 years, especially since the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School. In the ongoing efforts of schools to make their students and staff safer, school resource officers have come to play a crucial role. So how exactly do they go about doing this from day to day when their schools are not in the headlines due to a threat, a shooting, or some other emergency? Officers Lasota and Wells are here to fill us in on that. So welcome to Study Hall, gentlemen. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks for being here. Let's begin with a little bit about your assignments. John, you're assigned mostly to the middle and high schools, right? Correct. And Chad primarily the elementary school, but one day a week you like switch off. So how how long have you each of you been with the district and with the sheriff's department?
SPEAKER_01John So I've been with the district now for four years in the department for eight years.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00And I've been with Kent City Schools since January of 23, and I've been with the Sheriff's Office since October of 2020.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02And this is your full-time uh assignment? Correct. Okay. So tell me how how each of you ended up uh assigned as SROs here. Uh I know you have some background in other places. Uh John, uh where where did you graduate high school and go to school again?
SPEAKER_01Well I graduated from Northview High School in King County, and then I went to college at Western Michigan. And after I graduated from Western, I I took my first job in the criminal justice field at the state of Wyoming. Um you go back to that was 2009, you know, we had the recession and people were laying off, but they had work out there. So I took that opportunity, worked as a correctional officer in prison for a year, and then I got my first police job in East Helena, Montana. Small little department out there, went to the Montana Law Enforcement Academy, started trying to work my way back home to Grand Rapids area, got as close as uh Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Southeast Michigan. And then ultimately, yeah, 2018, Kent County hired me and been here since.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Chad?
SPEAKER_00Kind of similar. Um went to Central Montcalm High School in Montcalm County. Um while there I went through a criminal justice program through the equivalent of KTC or KCTC and uh just developed uh interest in this profession. I ended up going to Ferris State where I got my criminal justice degree, but again, 2009, no one was hiring in this area. Um, had a connection out in California, applied to that department. Well, I was I ended up getting that job with Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, went through their academy, and then uh decided to move back after a year and a half, two years, and ended up landing in Virginia and working down there for two different police departments for five years. And then 2015, we ended up moving back to Michigan. I worked for Wyoming Police Department for five years, and then in 2020 came to the sheriff's office, and I've been here ever since.
Their Paths Into Policing
SPEAKER_02Uh so Chad, uh tell me how you ended up being assigned as an SRO here in um Kent City.
SPEAKER_00Um I have to give the thanks to John. Him and I had worked together in the past, and he had reached out to me letting me know that Kent City was gonna have an open position for an SRO because they were adding a second, which was awesome. And they got some state funding for that. They did. They got they were able to obtain a grant, and then they I believe they found some general fund money to put towards it. So he reached out to me and just explained what he did and um how great of a position it was, and it really intrigued me. And and I had been in schools quite a bit when I worked at Wyoming Police Department because I had a canine, I was a canine handler there, and just interacting with the kids and showing the kids my dog and all that stuff was really fun, and just seeing them light up. And I, you know, I I enjoyed seeing the kids when I worked patrol and I'd get out and play basketball with them and everything else. So it was just it was a a good fit for for me at the time, and it's been awesome ever since. So I have to give thank the thanks to John for really putting it on my radar.
SPEAKER_02John, tell me how you got interested in this in this work. Uh I I think there was a certain incident that piqued your interest at some point.
SPEAKER_01After Sandy Hook.
SPEAKER_02Okay, you're referring to the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six educators were killed.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. I went to the elementary school in my beat the next day. I was handing out just candy, just letting them know that we're here. And this little girl walked up, she's like, Are you gonna kill us? And that just that's just stuck with me ever since. So I just knew then, you know, a lot of what we do, I I love this job, I love this career field. There's gonna be some things that ultimately I don't think there's anything more important than just the protecting of human lives. And just I just decided just put me in a situation, put me in a setting where we're not gonna do that here. We're not gonna try that here. And if if someone wants to try something like that here, I'm gonna stand in the way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Wow. So that really had an impact on you. This was your first SRO job, is that correct? Correct. Okay. But way almost 13 years ago now, you felt that urge to do this kind of work. Yes. So um did you receive um special training for doing this job, like in the sheriff's department?
SPEAKER_00We did go through two different sets of training with NASRO, which is NASA's National Association of School Resource Officers. There's a couple courses that we went through, but um specific training to the school. We I mean not so much just our patrol and block training and everything else at the sheriff's office.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like he said, it was advanced and basic SRO, right? NASRO through NASDAQ. Then MSP had a there was a team, it's called team training. That was just more of just being comfortable in front of a classroom setting. And but I just think you just like he was saying, I think when I walked in talking about seeing the kids, and it just takes a certain type of guy, right? You can't hide out and and and be a recluse in this spot. You're out there talking with kids and and adults all day long and be pretty personable and yeah. And I think that was the right setting for me and definitely for Chad.
SPEAKER_02So And you both have kids of your own, right? Cool. Um So your your work uh involves a lot of different roles and duties, it seems to me. Uh what would you say the most important aspect of your job is, and you know, sort of your your main thing that this is the main thing I'm here for?
SPEAKER_00Uh I would have to say, you know, just being present, being with the kids, interacting with the kids, and showing showing them that we care about them.
SPEAKER_01First and foremost, we're here to protect the student body and the staff that are here. And then after that, you you know, you're they might we might be the only interaction there and the only impression they ever have of the law enforcement field. So it's building that bridge of that they can know and trust us.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So uh like what's a typical day like for each of you? Do you do you do you do rounds? I mean, how do you how do you kind of structure your day, uh John?
Why Choose School Safety Work
SPEAKER_01Well, you you just never know, right? I mean you come into school and we're here. A lot of days we have crossing guards here, and uh a lot of times just someone can't be there, so you start the day out at the crosswalk. Did then the crossing crossing. We did that this morning today. And then and then you're here and and you know, you just walk in the halls all day round, pop into some classrooms. Um obviously, if uh a lot of it's just mentoring kids, you know, they want to come and talk about not necessarily a a crime or a criminal related event that maybe have happened at home, and they just want to get stuff off their chest and and they they'll come to us and talk about it. So there's that counselor aspect of it too that is is is big and that's pretty frequent. And then of course, if if something happened um at home or even here uh pertaining to a crime, you know, we're usually that's why we're here. We can handle that for them.
SPEAKER_02Tell me about that mentoring piece and what are what are some of the kinds of things that kids, students might come to you to talk about um that they feel that they can talk to you about, Chad?
SPEAKER_00Usually it's you know something to do with relationships with other students, they're either having an issue. Um my inner um my environment's completely different than John's, obviously being in that elementary school. Yep. So it's a lot of you know the bickering back and forth between students at recess or so-and-so's picking on me, kind of a thing. So just working through it with them, talking to them. Um occasionally I'll pull both. If if it's something like that, just pull them both in and have a conversation, try to clear the air with them. It could be issues at home. Um they're seeing stuff at home or whatever it may be, or their needs aren't being met. We'll talk about that. Um yeah, it's uh like I said, it's quite a bit different than you know, looking into so much the criminal aspect of it or anything like that.
SPEAKER_02It's mostly just trying to mend our relationships between students and so at John at the middle and high school level, obviously you're getting into some different kinds of issues and problems. What are some of the things that students will come to you about?
What SRO Training Looks Like
SPEAKER_01A lot of times it's gossip and drama, nothing criminal, and we'll we'll help work through that. Like Chad said, probably the most frequent is is events at home that maybe they're having trouble with, struggle with. And those not necessarily are criminal type things, right? But there are of course those times when they come to you to confide in you and in events that are happening at home, and whether it was a domestic violence situation, whether it was a criminal sexual conduct, whether it was events with the phone and the internet. So and and we provide that service and that help.
SPEAKER_02And you're you authorized to follow up on those if there does seem to be some criminal um uh uh element to it, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02Um why is it so it sounds like a lot of what you do is kind of build these relationships with students, right? And build up their trust. Why is that so important to um fostering a safe environment and a secure environment for these for these kids?
A Typical Day In The Halls
SPEAKER_00John alluded to it earlier as you know, a lot of these kids don't have interactions with the police. Um and then the ones that do, it's usually a call at their home with patrol where there's a domestic or some sort of other issue. And those can be traumatic. So us being in the school, it's a neutral setting, it's somewhere where they're comfortable, and we can, you know, show them the the personal side of us where you know, we want to hang out, we want to play with you, we wanna go to recess or whatever it may be, and really br hone in that trust so they do feel comfortable if there is something that happens and there is an issue, whether it's something super small like Timmy pushed me on the playground and he wasn't feeling comfortable. Yeah. Or it could be something like I'm being hurt at home and they feel and have that trust in us that we're gonna keep them safe, but also listen and hear what they have to say, and then pushing forward through that. And, you know, whether it may be something that's handled within the school, or maybe it's something where I need to take the law enforcement route and help that way. There's several different avenues, but I think just showing them that we're a safe place where they can be themselves and talk to us and that we're human and we're just as goofy as they are.
SPEAKER_02Well, I would think if students are having trouble at home, they don't feel they have anxiety or fears or or whatever, that's gonna interfere with their learning, right? That's gonna interfere with their their concentration here and uh their ability to get work done. So um what happens when you're there's like a maybe there's a discipline issue, maybe a kid is acting out, maybe whatever's going on, they're acting out. Where where do you guys step in and where does the teacher or principal have to step in and handle it as a disciplined school discipline issue?
SPEAKER_01Is that something I would think I would say you're you're probably starting from that standpoint, right? Like behavior at school is is school discipline, and we don't necessarily do school discipline, right? That's left up to the staff here. Yeah. Uh we can certainly help, right? You know, sometimes you just gotta be like, hey, don't do that, right? Uh but um sometimes those behaviors might manifest because they're struggling at home. And that's when you work with your team, you know, whether it's the principal, the counselor, that particular teacher, that they're seeing things like, hey, this this seems to be something more going on, and this is just a kid that can't behave. Right. Or this is a certain aspect, this this particular kid, this is uncharacteristic for this kid. And then you might look into it, and and having us here, we we might be able to look up, hey, this just through our reporting system. And we're not gonna share that with everybody, but we might be able to get an understanding of okay, there's a lot going on at home that you know patrol is responding to. There's a lot of trauma in the house, and that that might just lead into a a different perspective.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00To answer your question, I f we don't get involved with school discipline on a regular unless it's something where it's a safety issue. Yeah, I'm thinking more like a fight in the hallway or something like that. Yeah, we'd break that up, sure. Separate them. But um most discipline is handled by the school. The only thing that if it's a safety concern or something like that, or someone's getting physically assaulted or there's a weapon involved or something like that, then we would definitely jump in.
SPEAKER_02Sure.
SPEAKER_00But school discipline's handled in that office over there. For sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So you have to maintain pretty close relationships with the staff, with the teachers, right? And we do. Um so when you when you talk about building this trust with students, I would think part of that trust is if they see something they think is not right, or maybe this student is acting strange, saying things that are a little bit worrisome, do you want them to be able to come to you and report that? And does that happen actually sometimes?
SPEAKER_01Yes. It does happen. Okay. Yes to both, or okay.
Mentoring And Student Trust
SPEAKER_02Um there was an incident a couple of years ago where there was a threat. Uh I think it was a social media threat. How often do you get those kinds of threats? Um are they pretty rare or how would you characterize that?
SPEAKER_00I feel like it's school by school.
SPEAKER_01For us at Kent City, it's minimal. Minimal. Yeah. I mean, every so often a kid's gonna get they're gonna say something too. We've had some, and then obviously we we look into it. There's the threat assessment that the school does that we're a part of as well. Hey, is this a credible threat? Is this not? If it is a credible threat, we're gonna take it up a notch, you know. Well that's another investigation, furtherance of the investigation, but overall they're infrequent, but they happen. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. Any incidents with actual guns in school this year that you know of? No. Okay, good. Um, how do students react to your guns, by the way? Are they intimidated by it? Or do they think it's cool? What are they again?
SPEAKER_00It might be a little bit different. A little bit different at the elementary school. They're very fascinated at the elementary school. They're like, Yeah, it's everything from Oh, is that a gun to ooh, can I touch it? So probably the answer is no. Yeah, but the answer is always no. And that's something that I always tell the kids at the elementary, especially the you know, the pre-K through I would say second grade. Okay. Third through fifth are pro they're good about it. But yeah, yeah, there's a lot of uh our DK and uh preschool and even some of our first grader graders that uh feel like they just gotta touch it. Sure. So yeah, I always preface everything on my belt is mine, it's not the little kid hands. Right. And we don't touch it. But yeah, I don't think that any of the students are intimidated by our uniform or me carrying a gun. I just explained when they ask, why do you have a gun? Well, I'm a police officer and I'm here to keep you safe, and it's part of my uniform. So part of your uniform. Yep.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and you gotta think the seniors here have gone to school with a cop in their school their whole career. Yeah. So they're just used to it, you know. I was fixed. I've been here for four, him three, before me was deputy Scott Cook, and he was here for seven years. Mm-hmm. It's eleven years. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, all the way through.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
Discipline Versus Law Enforcement
SPEAKER_02But by the way, I should point out to the listeners that as we've had this conversation, you have both gotten calls about medical uh emergencies involving students. And apparent apparently they've been resolved. Um you're you're both still here. Yep. But this is part of your duties as well, is responding to what, students having um medical problems uh at school.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but we have a MERT team that's comprised of us, our school nurse, and several administrators. Okay. There's something that happens, I'll page us over this, and then we have text groups on our phones and we go and help, and you know, we can if we need an ambulance, we can get one here real quick. So we help with that aspect of it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Are you trained to deal medically with on it if nobody else is available at the moment? Uh we have basic first aid and CPR, CPR. CPR. So when you when we're talking about these um scenarios, obviously, you know, uh John, you had mentioned Sandy Hook, the terrible tragedy, Columbine. Um that's on kids' minds. You know, we talk to students all the time, they're aware of them. Um how do you prepare in your schools for such a scenario? God forbid it should happen, but what is the protocol to prepare for that with the with the students and the staff, uh, John?
SPEAKER_01Well, the students, you know, we have our lockdown drills, yeah. You know, and those are mandated by the state. Every school's got to do a certain amount of lockdown drills per year. And then with the staff you have in professional development, whether it is through the year, probably for the most part before the school year starts up, you know, that week, just run through the protocols. Okay. Um some schools I'm aware that they'll they'll do full-on scenarios. We haven't so much done that here. It's just, hey, this is this is what we need to do, this is where we need to go for a scenario like that.
SPEAKER_02Um, do you run through training with other officers in the in the county?
Threats, Reporting, And Assessments
SPEAKER_01We we've brought all the deputies who work the north have come and walked our buildings. Walked the buildings, you know, we get them toured. Uh in Kent County, the deputies have we have a way that they can access the building, absent us. Okay. Um and then the the the department we're we're always uh throughout the year we do we do trainings throughout the year.
SPEAKER_00We just did one. And assailant training.
SPEAKER_01And we're at least one or more of those trainings throughout the year are going to be geared to, you know, a dynamic incident like that.
SPEAKER_02Or do you hold those trainings? Uh it varies.
SPEAKER_00It can be outdoor style training or indoor training room clearing sort of stuff.
SPEAKER_02Okay. All right. So um you you do a lot, you you're motivated to do this work. What do you like? What do you enjoy most about the work that you're doing here, uh, Chad?
SPEAKER_00Seeing just the kids and see them light up and just again. Yeah. Just playing I don't know. It's it's just fun. You know, you see you see these kids grow. I mean, this is my well, I guess fourth school year. I worked half of one. And just watching them grow and watching them just develop into big kids and then high schoolers. And it's just, it's wild. It's fun. It's it's just it's a way different thing than I've ever done in my career. And honestly, it's I've done some very cool things, working a dog and some other things. And I would have to say by far being an SRO is the most rewarding position I've been in so far.
SPEAKER_02So you've got littler kids, you know, what K through five, K through six, uh K through five.
SPEAKER_00Uh preschool through fifth.
SPEAKER_02John, what what what what uh do you enjoy from day to day about working with these middle and high schoolers?
Guns, Medical Calls, And Preparedness
SPEAKER_01It's just like it really the same things he said, but just to simplify it, when you're on a patrol, you're just going from crisis to crisis, right? And maybe it from is not a crisis, but to that collar, it's the worst day of their life. So every situation is just not good. But here you're having normal everyday conversations and you can joke around and you can talk sports or you can talk the weather, you can talk whatever, and and that uh the building relationship aspects of it, that's great.
SPEAKER_02It sounds it sounds like um much more socially enjoyable than being out on patrol. Yes. Um is there anything you'd like parents, students to know about why you are doing this?
SPEAKER_01I just have to say from the beginning, I'll just say the quiet part out loud. Like my first and foremost purpose is we're not gonna have evil visit this school. And if and if they're gonna try to bring that, they pick the wrong school because between the two of us I feel very confident that that we can thwart a disaster here. And for me, that that's my biggest why. And obviously, I mean I I love kids, I have kids, it's just a fun gig, and I'm gonna do what I can to to be an objective, neutral, just good cop, I guess.
Why The Job Feels Rewarding
SPEAKER_00Yeah for them. Yeah. Just stealing it right out of my mouth. Why don't you? He took all the good lines. Yeah, he you took all the good lines. Um honestly a lot of the same, you know. I I have a vested interest in this district, and um, I want to keep the kids here safe and also want to be a safe place for 'em. I wanna, you know, there's some kids in our district that don't have a safe place. And maybe it's just having that positive male role model aspect, or you know, just having a place to go if they need to talk or get something off their chest. But uh yeah, it's there's so many different things in this job, in this position, but comes down to keeping the kids safe, keeping the building safe, keeping everyone within these walls safe, and um creating some good relationships along the way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, I and we really appreciate the work that you do. And uh I hope I hope your days are more often happy than not. And uh they are big time. It's a great day to be mental. Well, thanks so much for your your time today, uh, John and Chad. And thanks once again to our listeners for tuning into Study Hall from School News Network. I look forward to joining you on our next episode. Until then, be well, stay safe, and keep your pencils nice and sharp.
