School resource officers are involved in all aspects of the school day. They help supervise when students arrive, greet them throughout the day between class changes and during lunch blocks, and can be seen at after school events in the evenings. Great Crossing has two resource officers ready for anything that comes their way: Officer Josh Hudnall and Officer Ben Martin, who monitors the halls with his faithful sidekick, his trained service dog, Ollie, which students know and love.
The goal of having these officers on campus every day is to maintain a safe environment for all students and staff. They make sure that all the doors around the school are locked, monitor the parking lot, and confront suspicious or criminal activity throughout the day.
Officer Hudnall, describes his role in GCHS as, “A tool for the school.” He believes that he and Martin help send a message of safety by making their presence within the school known, with their marked police cars parked in the parking lot and by wearing their official uniforms each day. Hudnall explained, “We don’t typically handle student behavior issues unless the admin asks.”
Assistant principal Austin Haywood values the experience and assistance that the SROs provide to GCHS. Haywood stated, “While we often work in collaboration with our SROs, our roles in the way we handle students is much different. The main role of SROs at any school is to enforce the law. Often, the discipline issues we deal with regarding students, are not dealing with illegal activity. But, there are times where the discipline issue is ALSO a legal issue. Fights, drugs and alcohol are examples of times when SROs would be involved AND there would be school related consequences and we would need the assistance of our SROs.”
Additionally, Hudnall explains that the most important part of his job is interacting with the students. Hudnall finds it important to help students feel a sense of ease when it comes to interacting with law enforcement. He explained that his goal is, “Building the relationship with kids so they know once they get out of school they can interact in a positive way with law enforcement. If I see a new student that I think may have behavioral issues, I’ll go up to them and give them a fist bump to help build that relationship with them,” explained Hudnall.
Hudnall explained that he wants students to know that he and Martin are available for conservations of all types. “Good day or bad, come up to us. I want you to have fun and be safe,” he said.
Dustin Busler, GCHS assistant principal, explains that he and the SROs work hand in hand. The SROs and administration work together to improve the safety and growth of the students within the school. “They see things that we don’t. They are literally our first responders,” explained Busler. “Most schools only have one. Being a school with only 1700-1800 kids, it’s a big help to have two.”
Haywood seconds Busler’s thoughts on the value of having two SROs. Haywood explained, “We just have so many students at Great Crossing, having two, full time, SROs is a must. As much as we like to try and create routines, and create systems for efficiency, at times, things can become unpredictable. And, at times, can become overwhelming. The details that go into the work SROs do can often be time consuming. As simple as it sounds, it’s impossible for one person to be two places at the same time. And at time, Great Crossing High School can be a very, very busy place.”
Isabella Solace, Great Crossing junior, explained that some students may perceive the resource officers as scary, just because of their title, but most students just view them as another staff member. “One of my friends lost something my freshman year, and they helped her with finding the lost item. They’re there to help,” stated Solace.
“Building a positive relationship is the first step to breaking a positive barrier. So many of the youth are told that the police aren’t good people. We want the kids to see us in a positive way,” stated Hudnall.
Haywood said, “We truly appreciate the work that our SROs do here at Great Crossing. While they work to protect us and keep us safe, they also do an outstanding job of building relationships with students.”
