The week of May 12-18, we celebrate National School Police Week and the contributions of the folks in the district’s Office of Safety and Security!
Here in Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), we’re committed to safe, secure, successful schools. And our 89 School Resource Officers (SROs) are critical to that commitment. In addition to policing campuses, SROs focus on educating students and staff on safety issues and working with school administrators on school safety plans. Our SROs, dispatchers, crossing guards, and other staff in the GCPS Police Department work to provide a safe and secure learning environment for our students and staff.
The department maintains State of Georgia Law Enforcement Certification, a distinction currently held by only five public school system police agencies in the state. Being state certified ensures an agency continues to meet critical standards in law enforcement and noncritical standards in administration.
Our SROs are highly qualified professionals who have five or more years of experience in law enforcement and hold postsecondary degrees (about a third with master's degrees). Our SROs are housed in schools— two SROs at every high school and one SRO at every middle school. They serve their home school as well as elementaries and other school facilities in the cluster. Officers take a multifaceted approach to community policing in the schools, engaging in three types of activities: law enforcement, counseling/mentoring, and law-related education.
We appreciate all that the Safety and Security team does to ensure that our schools remain safe and secure!
Make sure to thank your SRO this week for all that they do!
#ThankAnSRO
Gooooaaaallll!
Some Graves ES students put their best “cleat” forward in a friendly game of soccer with GCPS School Resource Officers (SROs) recently. The aspiring soccer players are members of the Soccer United after-school program. Led by Aaron Hutter, a teacher at the school, the program is designed to help students develop soccer skills, gain confidence, practice teamwork, and promote good behavior.
Ronnetta Coates, an SRO who played in the game, says she had a good time and hopes the game promotes good relationships between the SROs and the children. “As an officer, it’s an honor to participate with the youth that we serve as a community and have fun with them,” said Officer Coates. “Through activities such as this, we hope to build a good rapport with the students. The officers who came out today truly love what they do and had a blast playing soccer with the students at Graves Elementary.”