Junior Mallorey Cheslock walks to lacrosse practice after school. Cheslock said she thinks the SROs are nice, citing “hallway high-fives,” and she said she thinks the new policy plans for the rest of second semester have the chance to help a lot of people.

The CHS school resource officers (SROs) are expanding on old policies like buzz-in doors, “Safe Visitor” and ID policy changes while also planning new policies surrounding “Stop the Bleed” crisis health training, “Catch my Breath” vaping education and vaping “second chance programs.” 

According to Ashley Williams, Master Patrol Officer and SRO, students should expect the “Stop the Bleed” education program to emerge next school year, with “Catch my Breath” lessons coming in the next few months.

“Right now, if you’re caught with a vape or something like that, you’re sent to court and ticketed, but we want to give students a chance to get help to get off of (these substances,)” Blake Lytle, Master Patrol Officer and SRO said, regarding the “second chance” drug programs. “We want to attack the issue of “why is this happening” and provide students resources to help them quit and avoid peer pressure moving forward.”

Junior Mallorey Cheslock said she thinks these adaptations to current policies will be beneficial. 

“I don’t think everything we have right now is completely effective,” she said, “so I think new plans like the drug repercussion program could really help a lot of kids out.”

In addition to safety policies, Cristhian Rodriguez, Master Patrol Officer and SRO said SROs and members of administration are working to create a team of students to give feedback on how to improve school safety.  

Lytle said students should expect gradual changes and policy shifts over time. 

“Nothing will be super different overnight,” he said. “We’re taking baby steps to change our culture because we haven’t had these policies, and (fast changes) could cause a little bit of ruckus.”

“We want different backgrounds and perspectives to help us figure out how to help the school as best we can,” he said. 

The safety committee currently plans to meet once a month during SSRT, and if students want to contribute to this team, Rodriguez encouraged them to speak to an SRO about getting involved.