School resource officers get accolades from national organization
John Bruner, Keystone Oaks school resource officer, is shown with Michelle Anderson, director of operations for the National Road Safety Foundation, and Grace Vanatta, daughter of Aaron Vanatta. Bruner received the national Innovation in the Classroom award.
An anti-drug poster developed by Keystone Oaks resource officer John Bruner, who retired after 18 years with the South Strabane Township police department as a patrol officer and detective. Briner also developed posters tackling drunk driving and bullying.
An anti-drunken driving poster developed by Keystone Oaks resource officer John Bruner
An anti-bullying poster developed by Keystone Oaks resource officer John Bruner
North Strabane Township police officer Eric Spicer, who is the school resource officer at Canon-McMillan High School, is shown with his Regional Exceptional Service Award.
One is a working police officer and the other recently retired. For both, the past school year was their first as a school resource officer.
And they both received awards from the National Association of School Resources during the group’s annual convention earlier this summer in Orlando, Fla.
North Strabane Township police officer Eric Spicer, school resource officer at Canon-McMillan High School, received the Regional Exceptional Service Award. The award is presented to a SRO for continuous and sustained service to the school community above and beyond what is expected. The region includes Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and New Jersey.
John Bruner of Buffalo Township, who recently retired after 18 years with the South Strabane Township police department as patrol officer and detective, won the national Innovation in the Classroom award for his work as school resource officer in Keystone Oaks School District. The award includes a $1,000 honorarium for the district.
The position of school resource officer is new for the North Strabane police department and the Canon-McMillan district.
“We never had this position before, but it was necessary in order to meet professional law enforcement standards and to move beyond a reactive approach,” said township police Chief Brian Hughes.
Before the position was created, township officers were assigned to patrol the schools in the district.
Spicer was selected for the position last summer and began preparing for the 2014-15 school year, completing a 40-hour basic SRO training and a 24-hour advanced course hosted by NASRO.
“He did an excellent job,” Hughes said of the work done by Spicer in his first year. “It is nice to see a national organization take notice.”
During the last school year, Spicer taught 17 courses on a variety of subjects including processing crime scenes, self-defense, drug and alcohol awareness, sexting and driving awareness.
“As an example, during the domestic violence class, Officer Spicer taught the students about the cycle of violence,” Hughes said. “The cycle of violence is when someone is in an abusive relationship which continues to deteriorate. Students were not aware that the abuser can become more violent as the relationship grows. They were taught the signs to look for, and that they can get help.”
Spicer arranged for a field trip to use a driving simulator to teach students the importance of safe driving habits. He also took students on other field trips through the year, including to the Washington County courthouse, booking center and jail.
“He has conducted criminal investigations, provided student counseling, assisted school administrators and staff with various tasks and issues,” Hughes added. “He has taught a variety of classes and took every opportunity to build a rapport beyond the school setting.”
Hughes said Spicer also did nearly 100 hours of training on a variety of subjects such as Through Education and Mentoring, classes in juvenile behavior, interview and interrogation techniques, responding to school crisis and assessing school safety. Spicer completed training for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate (A.L.I.C.E.). He and Officers Jonathan Miles and Michael Kroscko are certified instructors for the A.L.I.C.E. program.
Spicer said he feels very fortunate to be recognized by an organization that oversees SROs throughout the country.
“I learned a lot at the conference,” Spicer said. “I am hoping to apply it in the classroom.”
Bruner joined Keystone Oaks School District as SRO when Aaron Vanatta of Taylorstown left to take the SRO position at Quaker Valley School District.
At a meeting with the high school principal, Bruner noticed a group of preschoolers on their way to class and half-jokingly made a comment teens would listen to little kids quicker than they would listen to adults. The remark, along with about $250, was the basis for the award-winning program, Preschool Patrollers.
Working with a preschool teacher, three preschool students were selected and fitted for kid-size police uniforms. They then were trained to deliver simple messages like “Don’t text and drive” or “Don’t eat and drive” that are broadcast as part of safety announcements over monitors throughout the high school.
The school’s science department got involved, printing posters with the safety messages. The concept was expanded to also educate elementary and middle-school students on other matters ranging from bullying to drug abuse, gun safety and distracted driving.
Bruner’s goal for this school year is to get all 16 children in the preschool program involved in Preschool Patrollers. At the convention, he had two sheriff’s deputies from Florida ask him about the program.
Vanatta, who works as a part-time officer for South Strabane, won a national award at last year’s NASRO conference. He was named director of NASRO’s Region III.