By Kevin Kimmel, Superintendent of Bucyrus City Schools

The climate and culture of any school district is very important to students, parents, community members, district administrators and staff. A positive climate and culture provides students with the proper environment for achieving maximum educational success. One of the most important factors in providing a positive climate and culture in a school district is student and staff safety. As the Superintendent of the Bucyrus City School District, ensuring that we are providing a safe learning environment for students to learn and staff to work is one of my top priorities.

Over the last two years, we have engaged different sectors of our school community in a variety of surveys, including a Community Feedback survey, an Open Enrollment Out survey, an Open Enrollment In survey and staff focus group meetings. The goal of these activities has been to identify areas of our district’s operations that are important to our district stakeholders, and then develop and implement action plans to address those issues. One of the top priorities identified by all groups was student and staff safety.

What do the numbers tell us?

I would like to share some of the data from the surveys that shows us the importance of student and staff safety to our community members.

  • 85% of respondents from the Community Feedback survey stated that they strongly agree or agree that the Bucyrus City School District provides a safe learning environment for students and staff.
  • Respondents from the Open Enrollment In survey identified school safety and a welcoming school atmosphere as their top two reasons for enrolling their child in to the Bucyrus City School District.
  • Those who had attended the Bucyrus City School District and left cited school safety as their top reason for leaving in the Open Enrollment Out survey.

What do these numbers show?

The overwhelming majority believes that the Bucyrus City School District is providing a safe learning environment for students and staff. However, not everyone feels that way, presenting us with an opportunity to improve through specific action plans. One of the action plans we are hoping to implement, should the Board of Education vote favorably, is a partnership with the City of Bucyrus and Bucyrus Police Department to reinstate the School Resource Officer program in the Bucyrus City School District.

Now, before you jump to conclusions and assume we are reinstating this program because our buildings are unsafe, let me assure you that our buildings are safer today than they have ever been in my time as the Superintendent. How can I say this? We have witnessed a steady decline in student discipline referrals throughout the entire district since the 2011-2012 school year. Allow me, again, to share statistics with you. In the three-year time frame, 2011-2012 through 2013-2014, both buildings in our district have experienced strong double-digit decreases in student discipline referrals and reports. Bucyrus Secondary School, in that time span, has experienced a 48% decrease while the Bucyrus Elementary School has seen a 64% decrease in student discipline referrals and reports.

Why bring the program back?

We are hoping to reinstate this program for several reasons. First, and most importantly, we want to be proactive in ensuring that we are providing the safest learning environment possible. Two of the three primary roles of the School Resource Officer will be to serve as a crime prevention and law enforcement officer at the school during school hours. The third role, and probably the most important, is to provide educational programming to promote positive attitudes toward law enforcement officers and their role in our community.

As a crime prevention officer, this individual will conduct a variety of activities including foot patrols, speaking to teachers about reducing the opportunity for crimes to occur and investigating crimes and patrolling the parking lots. Additionally, the officer will serve as a resource to the school’s faculty and staff to advise on matters relating to criminal activity. The officer will also coordinate and conduct crime prevention presentations for faculty, staff and students.

As a law enforcement officer, this individual will be involved in many of the traditional enforcement activities. The officer will also be responsible for sharing information between school officials and the police department. The officer, in conjunction with school resources, could also serve as coordinator of an alternative to suspension/arrest program where a form of community service may occur and coordinated by the officer in the school setting.

Finally, the School Resource Officer will become a member of the Bucyrus City School District educational team so that the officer can support the district’s mission of educating youth and become more accepted by students, faculty and staff. The School Resource Officer can provide classroom or school-related event presentations on such topics as Law Enforcement as a career, an overview of Traffic Laws, Personal and Social Responsibility, an Overview of the Judicial System and Social Media Safety just to name a few.

The Bottom Line

We are hoping to reinstate this program because we want to enhance positive relationships between students, parents, our community, the School Resource Officer and the Bucyrus Police Department. We have many students who bring a myriad of issues to school with them from their home lives. We want to encourage these students to build a relationship with the School Resource Officer where students can trust the officer when they need someone to talk to about their issue that isn’t an employee of the district.

We are also trying to enhance the educational experience of each and every student in the Bucyrus City School District through the School Resource Officer program. We know that, in our fast paced, digital world, students face many more challenges than students did 5, 10 or 15 years ago. We want the educational programs and presentations shared by the School Resource Officer to help our students become better people and be more productive members of our society.

As the Superintendent, I am excited about the possibilities the School Resource Officer program presents for our students, teachers and community to strengthen the already positive relationships with our community’s law enforcement officers. As a parent of three children in the Bucyrus City School District, I am excited about the School Resource Officer program because it is a proactive step to enhance an already safe school environment for my children and the children of other parents in our community.

If you have any questions about the School Resource Officer program, I encourage you to contact me directly at 419-562-4045 or email me at kkimmel@bucyrusschools.org. Thank you for your continued support of the Bucyrus City School District and Go Redmen!