Recently, the Herald covered the retirement of longtime Bayfield School District resource officer Dan Cyr, a law enforcement officer assigned to the schools (Jan. 31, “Bayfield school resource officer retires from Marshal’s Office”). His kindness and moral compass made him a great role model for Bayfield students.
I’m asking the Bayfield School Board to consider student and staffing needs and determine whether a school resource officer is the most appropriate choice.
I recall hearing at Bayfield Middle School Accountability meetings recently that 10% of students were chronically failing all core classes. The issue identified by teachers was their home lives.
Given the pandemic, concerns for mental health and the budget shortfall Bayfield faces, maybe a parent liaison or mental health position is more needed. Maybe providing classes in interpersonal skill development, rather than in policing careers, would be more beneficial.
Intervening with a curriculum like the Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving curriculum is a well-researched way to improve student behavioral and social/emotional outcomes, including academic achievement. This curriculum has been used in Durango and Ignacio to teach students how to solve social/emotional problems, rather than police them.
While Deputy Dan was a great example of a successful school resource officer, the training required to become a police officer is less than that of a school counselor. The pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of our mental health needs and highlighted our weaknesses.
Let’s put our limited budgets toward positions that would best address these issues.
Laurie Roberts and five othersBayfield
