POYNETTE, Wis. — Students and staff might notice that the Poynette School District has a new addition this year.
Drake Coleman was appointed the school resource officer (SRO) for the entire Poynette School District at the beginning of the school year.
“My day to day, I am all about the schools,” said Coleman. “I am in high school, middle school and elementary school just interacting with kids.”
This is the first time in over a decade that an SRO has been appointed to the Poynette School District.
Police Chief Adam Rogge said his department was averaging six and a half calls a week at the school district. Rogge said he hopes having a new SRO will decrease that number.
“I felt it was important to take a proactive approach to help reduce the negative interactions students were having with law enforcement,” Rogge said. “I wanted to introduce the presence and education pieces to help reduce those negative interactions.”
Jerry Pritzl is the school district administrator. Pritzl said he hopes that having an SRO will not only reduce the number of calls but also help reduce call times in case of dangerous or life-threatening situations.
“Let’s say we had an emergency happen, we would have to call and that could be a couple minute response,” said Pritzl. “If we have someone who is here, I think that would be a huge step in ensuring the safety and security of everyone.”
Pritzl also said he hopes this will show students that police officers can offer more than tickets and citations.
“Our mission and goal is to connect with all kids so they can see our police officers as an ally and someone who is there to help,” he said.
Getting to know the students is officer Coleman’s favorite part of the job.
“My ultimate goal was just to be a role model for all of the kids — interact with them, show them they were not here to get you tickets, citations and arrest you,” said Coleman. “We have other roles too in law enforcement.”
Along the way, Coleman said he hopes to inspire students to give back to their communities by considering a future career in law enforcement.