Building bonds
Just under seven years ago, Officer Bryan Kelley was the sole student resource officer for Mountain Brook Schools.
“There were a lot of people who weren’t even aware the position existed at times,” he said.
A few years later, Officer Richard Knecht joined Kelley as an SRO. Still, it wasn’t a well-known position.
“Even when there were two of us, they would say, ‘You are what?’” Kelley said.
They added one more to their ranks when Officer Scott Hall joined the SRO team, but more recently, three officers were welcomed by the school system: Josh Glidewell, Glen White and Tommy Tanner.
Together, they have more than 130 years of experience in law enforcement.
Kelley, Glidewell, White and Tanner all serve at the elementary schools, while Hall is at the junior high and Knecht is at the high school. Their main role is the same no matter the school: providing security for students and faculty on a day-to-day basis.
“At the end of the day, if anything were to go down at the high school level [or any level], the SRO is it,” Knecht said. “Whatever the situation is.”
But on any given day, they wear many different hats.
At the elementary school level, Kelley, White and Glidewell said they’ll go around and pop their heads into classrooms, say hi to kids and serve as the special guest for different activities.
Sometimes they hang out in PE class, act as the crosswalk guard, get toys or balls that are stuck in tight places and read to groups — “Officer Buckle and Gloria” is “well-known around second-graders,” Kelley said, and he keeps the book on his desk.
With the older grades, Hall continues interacting with the students but also teaches a few courses and works on security details both during school hours and during after-school events, such as the junior varsity games.
Knecht has similar duties as Hall, but the safety of student drivers is added on, as is monitoring the security of the two entrances to the high school. He also teaches in the criminal law class and driver’s education, helps with student mock trials and works during varsity games.
“This high school is very, very busy,” he said. “We’ve got stuff going on all the time at the high school.”
A big part of each SRO’s job — no matter where they are — is building a relationship and rapport with their students.
“When we [would] go to the elementary schools, it’s to introduce ourselves as police officers,” Knecht said. Now, each elementary school has their own officer.
Exposure to law enforcement for the younger students will be mainly from TV shows or video games, he said, and being immersed in the schools gives the SROs the “opportunity to tell kids who we are, what we do and how we can help them become successful.”
“As far as elementary, they know they can come to us and they’re taken care of,” White said. “… At elementary schools, you’re the good guy.”
Glidewell said he makes a point to show the kids he’s actively trying to help them by doing little things for the students, like collecting deserted jackets and returning them to the owners, not just putting them in the lost and found.
Kelley has climbed into the woods to get balls, and Tanner said he’s often sought after to get basketballs that are stuck.
“That builds a bond with the kids, which means later on, when he’s got a problem, he’s not hesitating at all to come talk to us,” Tanner said.
“[I want] younger kids to know that a police officer can be a positive influence in their life,” Glidewell said.
The officers do a lot in any given day, but it’s something they are all happy to be doing, and the schools have each brought in their officer as part of their family.
“Once they [the students] have their person, that’s their guy,” Knecht said.
Knecht said it’s his personal goal to reduce the barrier between the students and the SRO.
He said he talks with students regularly and sometimes, it’s just about being there to listen. It could be about schoolwork, home, something that happened on the way to school or an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend.
“Trust me, I’ve heard it, I hear it all year long,” he said. “Those things that affect them in high school … to the outside person, it might not seem like a big deal, but it’s a huge deal to them right then.”
Being a presence in the schools as an officer helps the students learn that the officers are there to help them stay safe and succeed, and being there as an SRO offers them an extra resource if they need it.
He said the role as a counselor is informal, but together they can provide a different voice for students when they have questions or are going through a hard time.
“If you think traditional, [education roles] are mostly women. We offer a male voice, for one, but can also talk about the legal side of things,” he said.
And wearing all of these different hats isn’t for everyone.
Since the officers can go from talking to an administrator, to a student, to a parent all in the span of a few minutes, Glidewell said, “you have to be good at talking with different people.”
The officers have to know how to best interact with students depending on their age and whether they are in special education classes.
It takes a lot of trust on different levels, White said, to have everything run smoothly and for them to operate successfully in their schools. They are working to keep anywhere from 500 to 1,000 students safe and serving as a familiar, friendly face that students can rely on at any time.
“It takes work,” Knecht said. “I know it’s not, like, instant gratification for anybody, but if you put in the effort, the work pays off.”
“We may never know what comes up later on,” when their involvement may have made a difference, White said.
Get to know Mountain Brook Schools’ SROs with these brief Q&As:
Josh Glidewell
► Brookwood Forest Elementary
► Number of years as an officer: About nine years
► Number of years as an SRO: This is my first.
Q: Why did you want to be an SRO?
A: While at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide), I thought about being a teacher and coach. So, after several years of patrol and other assignments, I thought that I would enjoy working in this unique area of police work.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
A: I really enjoy interacting with the kids and being a positive influence in their lives.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in the coming school years?
A: I think it will be cool to see the relationships that are formed between the community and police department through the work of the SROs in the schools.
Glen White
► Crestline Elementary
► Number of years as an officer: 32
► Number of years as an SRO: This is the first year. I have been a school resource officer since January of 2019.
Q: Why did you want to be an SRO?
A: As an SRO, I will be able to be a positive role model and presence. The relationship between children and police officers is important to foster in a positive manner so that in the future if that child needs assistance, they are not afraid to approach an officer and ask for help.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
A: I have enjoyed getting to know the children and the staff of Crestline Elementary. As far as an elementary school is concerned, it is large, which means there are many new faces to learn and many new challenges for me.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in the coming years?
A: I look forward to learning more about the individual children. I see that as a way to foster the positive relationships of kids and police officers. I also wish to ensure that the school is as safe as can be.
Bryan Kelley
► Cherokee Bend
► Number of years as an officer: 28
► Number of years as an SRO: Seven
Q: Why did you want to be an SRO?
A: After more than 20 years in patrol, it was nice to take on a new role. The challenge of working with children/young adults was and still is exciting.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
A: Speaking in class and allowing students to see a police officer from a more human perspective.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in the coming years?
A: After six years at the high school, now taking on the role of an officer in an elementary school is exciting. The perception of police that elementary students have is quite different than the one that high schoolers have.
Tommy Tanner
► Mountain Brook Elementary
► Number of years as an officer: 32
► Number of years as an SRO: This is the first year. I was trained as an SRO last year and was assigned to Mountain Brook Elementary School at the beginning of this year.
Q: Why did you want to be an SRO?
A: I enjoy working with students and using my skills to ensure a safe learning environment.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
A: The interaction with the students and staff has been great.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in the coming years?
A: I want to continue to build relationships with the students and staff. This will build trust and familiarity. Approaching me to discuss a problem will be much easier if there is an ongoing relationship. I want to provide a safe environment, so that the school system can continue to concentrate on education. This will be my way of assisting Mountain Brook to stay the best school system in the state.
Scott Hall
► Mountain Brook Junior High
► Years as an officer: 16
► Years as an SRO: Two
Q: Why did you want to be an SRO?
A: I wanted to be an SRO to be able to work with kids.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
A: Interacting with kids.
Q: What do you most look forward to in the coming years?
A: To watch unsure seventh-graders mature into confident ninth-graders.
Richard Knecht
► Mountain Brook High School
► Years as an officer: 19
► Years as an SRO: Two
Q: Why did you want to be an SRO?
A: I’ve had this position as a goal during my time as an officer. I love working with children and feel that my skill set can provide a positive impact on the students.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your role?
A: The fact that the students want me to be involved in their everyday challenges is the most gratifying thing for me.
Q: What do you most look forward to in the coming years?
A: I look forward to seeing the students at graduation, meeting new 10th-graders entering the high school for the first time and guiding all the students to be the best they can be. The job is only as rewarding as the amount of work put in by the school resource officer to making the student a success.