Looking For Trouble High School Finds Security Guards Do Much More Than Just Keep The Peace; The Officers Connect With Student’s Who Might Otherwise Fall Through The Cracks

Dozens of East Valley High School students flashed pearly smiles at Shelagh Tilton as they passed her on the way to afternoon classes.

Earlier that day, Tilton had disciplined two students for smoking, helped her partner, Rod Holmes, catch two others with a backpack full of booze, and warned several more not to miss class.

One minute students are glad to see Tilton, the next they are not. Such is the relationship the Spokane Valley’s new school security officers have established with students.

“We’re not their parents. We’re not their best friends,” Holmes said. “We fit somewhere in the middle of that incredibly narrow zone.”

Valley school security officers have worked hard to earn the respect of students, who frequently talk to them about their problems, concerns and fears.

“Now that they are used to us, they come to us,” Holmes said.

As a result, most conflicts between students are now being handled verbally instead of physically, and incidents of truancy and vandalism are dropping.

“We really didn’t have a major problem here and we wanted to keep it that way,” said Central Valley principal Paul Sturm.

Leary of growing youth violence problems schools around the nation are facing, all four of the Valley’s high schools hired security officers last fall.

The security officers are responsible for a broad range of disciplinary issues at Valley schools, but deal mostly with truancy, drugs and alcohol. Awareness of gangs and youth violence are two of the scarier issues they face.

Students were not quick to embrace the idea of security officers. Some worried the security officers would make school seem like jail.

However, incidents such as the recent shooting at a Moses Lake junior high school have made students reconsider.

And now that students have spent a few months roaming the hallways with security officers, they have accepted them.

“They’re really social. They’re not uptight,” said EV High junior Kris Krustangel. “You can get into a conversation with them about anything.”

West Valley’s security officer, Jim Stephens, earned kids’ respect by solving some thefts right away, said West Valley High assistant principal Polly Crowley.

“Things that had been taken from lockers, like a camera,” Crowley said. “That made kids think of him as someone to turn to.”

Administrators are pleased with the response. Security officers have not eliminated student conflict, they said, but have significantly reduced the number of fights.

At East Valley, the number of fights dropped from 18 during the 1994-95 school year to four last semester. Vandalism also has been reduced.

“We still have angry kids, but (security supervisors) have a chance to get there before something gets started,” said EV vice principal Ray Stookey.

School security officers share information about gang activity, drugs and youth violence with sheriff’s deputies. That has been a benefit to both the schools and the Sheriff’s Department.

“That had been one of the missing links,” said Spokane County Undersheriff Mike Aubrey.

Deputies regularly visit Valley high schools, but school administrators, fearing uniforms, badges and guns might intimidate students, have been careful to keep their security programs distinctly separate from the Sheriff’s Department.

“We certainly don’t want that police-state feeling,” CV’s Sturm said.

Security officers dress like the typical school faculty members. Students at East Valley call the security officers by their first names.

“They’re not the outsider. They’re not the enemy. They’re not the untouchables,” said EV principal Jeff Miller. “They’re communication central.”

Students have responded, Holmes said.

A tip from a student allowed Holmes and Tilton to catch two other students who had brought alcohol to school last Friday. Networking with students also has allowed the pair to prevent fights and to confiscate drugs and knives.

Principals at CV and U-Hi relayed similar stories, saying their safety resource officers know more of what’s going on than administrators.

“If you have a good relationship with your kids, you do,” Holmes said. “If you don’t, you don’t know a thing.”

Maintaining the relationship can be tricky. Security officers go out of their way to be friendly with students, but make sure they understand they still have a job to do.

“There’s a fine line there,” Holmes said. “We told the kids up front, don’t confuse our kindness with weakness.”

Students understand the distinction, Tilton said. In most cases, security officers are able to discipline a student one week and be friends again the next.

“Kids respect them because they respect us,” said EV student body president Joey Sanchez. “They treat us like human beings.”

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