Cookies with A Cop: New pilot program pairs up Seguin PD officers with local students
(Seguin) – When there are cookies to share, it’s easier for everyone to become friends. Cookies were apparently the ice breaker needed to help begin future relationships between Seguin Police Officers and local Seguin ISD students.
Cookies with a Cop was recently launched with fourth and fifth graders at Jefferson Avenue Elementary. The new partnership program is part of the Seguin PD’s adoption of the local elementary campus.
Helping to bring the partnership together is Kelly Follis, the Seguin ISD director of community outreach. Follis says after seeing a similar partnership come to life with students at Texas Lutheran University, enthusiasm began for even more friendly relationships but with a much younger group of students.
“We have other groups that are going to come into our schools to have lunch with kids, mentor with kids just be a role model for kids and be someone that they can talk to, share with. So, this is how we are starting out just having quite a representation from the police force and eventually the firefighters in our schools. The firefighters are going to be at Patlan and so, eventually this could turn into more of a one on one or smaller group. We will just have to start here and see how we do but I think cookies are really a great way to start and it kind of kicks off the holiday season too,” said Follis.
Follis says the cookie event will hopefully grow into officers having lunch with specific kids every other week. Cookies, pg. 2
Cookies, continued.
Surprising the students at lunch with trays and trays of cookies was a handful of Seguin Police Officers and PD employees. Each of the officers also made sure to bring along his or her Cop Cards which are like baseball cards featuring photos of the officers and personal information on the back. The Cop Cards are already a signature effort to interact with kids at events across the community.
Among the batch of officers on hand at the school lunchroom was Sgt. Kado Cato. Once the kids found their seats, Officer Cato didn’t hesitate to make new friends.
“They don’t know us as us. They see the uniform and based upon what they are told, or what their parents have told them or what they see on TV or whatever is told to them is how they look at us when they see us but now when they are actually getting to meet us and talk to us and see that we are dads and brothers – so I think it’s just little things like this with the cards and just letting them see a name and the quotes that we have in the back and why the quote is special to us kind of teaches them a little bit of our values as well and things we think about so just getting them in at this age where we can have a positive interaction with them no matter what is going outside the walls here I think is a pretty neat deal,” said Cato.
Seeing the many possibilities of this new pilot program is Seguin ISD Superintendent Dr. Matthew Gutierrez. Dr. Gutierrez says mentor programs such as these can go a long way in ensuring the success of each student.
We’ve over the last couple of years have heard about and learned about tensions that exist between communities and law enforcement. But one of the great things that really makes me proud in Seguin is that we’ve really not seen that so much here. Our police department has really done a great job of really evaluating the way they operate in Seguin and they are very passionate about community outreach and so this is an opportunity for our police department and our campuses to really come together to start to connect not just with kids but with their families as well,” said Dr. Gutierrez.
However according to Dr. Gutierrez, the program is more than just establishing relationships with kids. He says it’s also about helping them establish their future goals, careers, and overall success.
“We have a lot of students who also want to be in law enforcement and so to give them an opportunity to build a positive relationship with law enforcement I believe is going to go a long way and to also bring people who can serve as mentors to so many of our kids who need those positive influences in their lives. So, it goes beyond really just changing perceptions and building relationships with law enforcement. It’s also about bringing mentors into our schools because we do need more mentors and the majority of our police officers are male and a lot of our students don’t have those male role models at home and so I really do believe that this is going to be a game changer for Seguin ISD and it’s something that we are probably going to see expand because there is such a strong need for positive role models,” said Dr. Gutierrez.
Assistant Police Chief Rusty Suarez says the Seguin PD did not hesitate to accept the offer to partner up with Jefferson students. He says in the end, it’s a win-win for all.
“It’s just giving us an opportunity to connect with the children outside of being there for business purposes, so we are actually getting to sit with them while they are eating their lunch and of course, chit chat with them, crack jokes and just interact in a positive manner where they don’t have to see us in a difficult situation,” said Suarez.
Officer Cato says he’s grateful to be a part of the program and believes it’s just about letting kids know that they matter and that “we” always have time for them.
“A lot of it is just making time and that’s the one thing we don’t have a lot of – anybody in life, period. So, coming in here for 15 minutes or an hour is going to make a difference I think,” said Kado.
Other groups interested in adopting their neighborhood school or in supporting several schools through the district may contact Follis at 830-379-0325.
