The CHS school resource officers (SROs) are planning lessons for health and interpersonal relationships (IPR) classes to be used in late Nov. and early Dec. 

According to Cristian Rodriguez, Master Patrol Officer and SRO, the guest lessons are meant to teach students about life skills, as well as continue to improve safety in our school. They will cover topics such as drug abuse and the lifeline law, mental health support and more. 

Ashley Williams, Master Patrol Officer and SRO, said that she is increasingly focused on new projects and expanding old safety procedures, like door monitoring, to improve school safety as the semester continues. 

“We want all of our doors to be covered by an adult with a radio so just in case any unwanted person were to try to walk in, assistance can be reached quickly,” Williams said.

Williams also mentioned other programs like “Safe Visitor” which evaluates visitor risks and can assist in lockdown situations, and presenting safety tips to medical-centered classes to improve student knowledge.

Senior Amogha Paleru said she feels safe at school because of the presence of SROs in the building.

“(The SROs) all seem very nice,” she said, “and I know they are all working to keep up safe, which I really appreciate.”

Blake Lytle, Master Patrol Officer and SRO said SROs try to engage with students not only in classes, but to speak with them in hallways and keep them safe everywhere on school grounds. Lytle said they have recently worked with parking and driving safety more than usual, but their presence with traffic and driving safety ensures students’ wellbeing outside of the school building.

Rodriguez said he is focusing more on mentoring as the school year progresses to help individual students who request assistance from the SRO department.

“I’m able to see some warning signs that someone isn’t doing as good as they have been and I’m able to use our increasing mental health and social work resources to help students not only at a school-wide, but also (at) an individual level,” he said. “I have some students who stop by my office almost every day, and I appreciate being able to help them through what may be a tough time (when needed).”