Carson City School Board, Board of Supervisors discuss school resource officers

From cops in schools to the Race to the Top grant, Carson City’s School District and municipal governing boards got review and preview treatment Thursday.

Members of the School District Board of Trustees and the Board of Supervisors heard presentations running the gamut of those and other initiatives during the third annual such joint night meeting.

“This is moving,” Sheriff Ken Furlong said of the growing cops in school initiative and the work of an advisory board for the program. “It’s moving very, very quickly.”

Furlong introduced the various deputies in the schools and told the boards who in the community serves on the advisory board that began work this month. He said last month was when work from the community-oriented policing grant escalated.

“This has worked well from the kickoff,” Furlong said, which he dated as Dec. 11.

Various people commented among current and future goals are school safety and the deputies serving as mentors as they interact with students. One student gave the program a big shout out.

Sara Knight, a Carson High School sophomore, said Deputy Dean Williams, the school resource officer at her school, is one funny guy. She looked over at all the deputies involved and said, “Love you guys.”

Later in the evening she also testified about her work as a paid intern and opportunities at the Library’s Digitorium, a tech-oriented place many teens hang out.

She gave that initiative an upbeat blessing as well.

An informational update was provided by Allen Gosselin of the school system on a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) summit held Dec. 9 to promote collaboration between teachers and industries.

Gosselin said the STEM approach to learning is “taking content and enhancing the context of learning.” He said it matters because there are outcomes, not just talk.

Steve Pradere provided insights into accomplishments of the $10 million Race to the Top grant, now about three-fourths finished, saying the learner-oriented curriculum can be replicated elsewhere. He said teachers work more in concert because of it.

He also said students and parents get better information on student progress and students having laptops help them expand their horizons. “It really expands their learning opportunities beyond the walls of the classroom,” Pradere said.

Another presentation for the collaborating governing boards covered students taking classes for emergency medical technician and emergency medical services certification and recognized those contributing to that program.