Garcia Key to Program’s Success in Kansas City, KS Police Department Junior Police Academy

by Donna WadeLisa Garcia

Lisa Garcia, the Director of Student Services for District 500 in Kansas City, Kansas, was singled out by members police department as an important reason for the JPA’s success.

“Our partnership with Lisa Garcia and District 500 is an excellent example of when police departments partner with educators and others in the community, we can do good things,” asserted Assistant Chief, Colonel Terry Zeigler of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.

“High school kids will soon be out in the workforce, and it’s our shortcoming to have not reached out to prepare them to be better citizens.”

School Resource Officer Steve Williams agrees that support from school officials is integral to his success. “I couldn’t have asked for a better staff and administration. They have given me all the time and freedom to do this program to the fullest.”

Lisa Garcia is a product of those schools, so her advocacy of JPA is personal, too. She describes some of her teachers as “less than supportive,” so it’s as rewarding for her to see young adults so engaged in dialogue in the class that no one wants to leave when the bell rings as it is to see them celebrated and honored for their achievements.

Garcia believes that any program that helps young people become invested in their education and increases graduation rates is a worthy endeavor.  She fully supports JPA because it produces results. In the entire previous school year before JPA, students earned 64 credits.
Assistant Chief, Colonel Terry Zeigler of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department
During the months of the pilot JPA alone, they earned almost double that number. But it’s the personal impact the officers have on the students that she finds most impressive, because an officer willing to be authentic and real in their dealings with students helps them see beyond the uniform (and the stereotypes) to the person wearing it, and causes them to reevaluate their beliefs, not only about police, but about their community, their role in it and their responsibility to it. The bottom line is that students are earning credits  and graduating, which has seldom been the case in the past.

KCKPD Chief Rick Armstrong, a 33-year law enforcement veteran, observed that though there may be some initial hesitancy in an SRO’s openness with students, as the relationships develop, barriers will come crashing down, and that improves contacts between community members and police.

School Resource Officer Steve WilliamsOfficer Williams has seen changes in his cadets during the brief time he has taught the course. “I’ve only taught the program for a half semester, but I have noticed that some of the students have a new-found respect for and understanding of law enforcement and the legal system. Incidents requiring discipline have gone down while conduct and attendance have gone up.”

According to Garcia, prior to JPA, attendance at Fairfax was inconsistent and sporadic, at best. Since JPA was introduced, attendance has gone up from 68% during the previous year to a consistent 98%.

Chief Zeigler believes that teaching young people why cops do what they do and encouraging them to share openly with an officer about any negative experiences they’ve had with police is key to helping them “dissect” that previous interaction to learn how their own actions may have determined the officer’s response in that situation.
    
Garcia believes the training students receive through JPA helps give them the confidence to overcome obstacles in their lives, in addition to developing the self-discipline to seriously hit the books and focus on their studies. “This program has established that we can reawaken their enthusiasm for learning and academic achievement,” she stated. “It affirms to students that they matter to us, which helps to inspire and motivate them to pursue and achieve excellence.”

“It also empowers them to not be afraid to engage in their community, perhaps even aspire to leadership, because it affirms their ability to be successful,” she concluded.

Donna J. Wade is a freelance writer, graphic designer and former police officer who lives in the mountains of southern California. She has been a civilian LAPD police academy instructor, 1993 Reserve Officer of the Year (for the Employee Assistance Unit) and civilian board member on LAPD disciplinary hearings, known as Boards of Rights. She is the co-author (with retired LAPD Sgt. II John C. Cooley) of Planning for the Unthinkable: A Law Enforcement Funeral Planning Guide.