PLUMSTED — Safety-minded youngsters in the New Egypt Primary School will be the focus of a new program that aims to promote respectful living and safe choices.
The Junior Officers program was created as a collaborative effort between the Plumsted Township Police Department and the Plumsted Township School District, and targets preschool, kindergarten and first-grade pupils.
Although the program has only been around for a short time, Principal Richard DeMarco said school administrators and faculty members have already noticed changes among the student body.
“The program has further enhanced our ability to maintain a safe and positive school climate,” DeMarco said. “The students are very excited about the program and there has been positive feedback from the community and staff.”
The program works by selecting one pupil from each grade as junior safety officers for the month. In order to earn the title, pupils must regularly exhibit good behavior such as “walking safely in the hallway, showing bus safety … and respecting their friends and school.”
The children who are selected receive an honorary junior police officer badge and are recognized during the morning announcements.
Leading up to the program’s launch, students created a junior safety officer cutout to be displayed on the “safety wall” at the front of the building. Officials said the “safety wall” serves as a “symbol of the cooperation and dedication it takes to make the school safe.”
DeMarco said the Junior Officers program was the brainchild of School Resource Officer Danielle DePalma.
“Officer DePalma and the Plumsted Township Police Department have done a stellar job in proactively keeping our students and schools safe,” the principal said.
For March, preschool pupil Carter Jacobsen, kindergarten pupil Daphne Rogers and first-grader Ava Kuey were chosen to lead their peers by example as junior police officers.
Contact Andrew Martins at [email protected].