By Kadence Davidson, Reporter
Why is it important to have school resource officers (SRO)? Who are the Grand Island Senior High School Resource Officers?
The GISH SRO is Tyler Noel. Students can find him in the southeast wing of the building.
There are many reasons why GISH has Officer Noel at the school. One of them is to keep students and staff members safe at all times. Another reason is to be able to help keep the students under control when they are acting out and the staff can’t do anything.
Officer Noel’s job is to “enforce criminal incidents that happen within the school or on school property and provide safety and security.”
Some things the student body can go to him for are criminal activity or even just to talk. Officer Noel has been with GISH full time for about three months now. Students can find him either in his office or roaming the hallways making sure students are not skipping class. He also checks the bathrooms for graffiti.
Noel is 50/50 when it comes to being in his office and the hallways . The most important thing to Noel is to “provide safety and security.”
He also added, “I can be a police officer but can also be a listening ear.”
Last year GISH had two school resource officers and this year they only have one. The reason for that is because of a lack of manpower.
The Grand Island Police Department is short on staff. GIPD only has enough officers to fill one position at GISH.
Wes Tjaden is the Assistant Safety Coordinator for GIPS. His job includes building checks, looking for threats in the buildings, and threat assessments for preventative purposes. He conducts investigations on staff if needed.
Tjaden was working for the GIPD as the GISH SRO but retired and in his new position is now keeping all GIPS schools safe.
“I also knew that I wanted to have a bigger role regarding safety for ALL the schools,” he said.
Tjaden said he believes that it is important for GISH to have Officer Noel because “The SROs play a vital part in community relations between the Police Department, schools, and students.”
If a student is looking to talk to someone, Tjaden is an excellent listener. He comes to GISH a couple times a week but if students are looking to talk to someone and Tjaden is not at GISH, they should go find Noel who is here every day of the week.
Having an SRO at GISH or all schools for that matter has a big impact on safety.
Next time a student would like to report an incident at school they should stop in to see Officer Noel. Even the next time a student wants to talk and has no one, they should try to find Officer Noel.
Noel will always be here to talk and listen without judgment. Again students will be able to find him in the southwest wing of Grand Island Senior High School.
The Islander 