Edmonton police officers return to 6 public schools, more than 4 years after division halted program
School resource officer program to be reintroduced with new evaluation framework
Edmonton Public Schools has officially reintroduced police officers into six high schools, after halting the school resource officer (SRO) program in response to student and community concerns in 2020.
The school division said Tuesday the SRO program has been redesigned in collaboration with Edmonton Police Services (EPS), incorporating community feedback and consideration of the needs of students, families, and school staff.
Edmonton Public Schools said under the new version of the program, SROs will be assigned to Jasper Place, M. E. LaZerte, Ross Shephard, Eastglen, Harry Ainlay, and Queen Elizabeth high schools.
WATCH | Students react to having police officers in some schools:
Nancy Peterson, managing director of strategic division support for Edmonton Public Schools, said the SRO program was designed to provide support for students and ensure a safe and supportive learning environment in schools.
"Each of our school communities did work to assess their readiness to welcome an SRO back into the school community," she said at a school board meeting Tuesday.
"As each school gets to know their SRO, they're also going to understand how students are responding to the presence of an SRO in their school building. That would include also addressing students who have discomfort, taking questions from families, and within the evaluation, we would have an opportunity to capture any of those aspects of the model as well."
The reintroduction follows a public commitment from the Board of Trustees in April 2024, which approved a formal partnership with EPS to explore enhanced safety measures within division schools.
The division said it will be evaluating the program in phases.
"This gives us an opportunity to take a look at our successes and areas for improvement in stage one with the introduction of additional officers. Our intention is to continue to evaluate yearly," said Darrel Robertson, the division's superintendent.
The first phase, running from January to June 2025, will focus on assessing the program's implementation, looking at how SROs have been integrated into their schools and whether the officers' presence aligns with the program's intent.
After the first phase, the division will gather feedback from school principals, staff, students, and the broader community to determine if the goals of the program are being met, according to the framework presented at Tuesday's meeting.
Early findings from the evaluation will be shared with the board in a public meeting this fall.
The division said the second phase of evaluation, slated for the 2025-26 school year, will explore the program's impact on schools, with a focus on issues such as student belonging, conflict resolution, and emergency preparedness.
The SRO program has raised mixed reactions from in the past, with some expressing concerns about the presence of law enforcement in schools and the lack of accountability and transparency.
Rebecca Yeo, a parent who spoke at the meeting, said that the current proposal doesn't address public concerns raised at last year's discussions.
"This leaves me with many questions about how much this program has changed from its previous iteration and what benefit the students of Edmonton Public Schools will gain from implementing a new program so quickly," said Yeo.
Lisa Wright, principal of Dr. Anne Anderson School, said the addition of SROs has sparked interest from students who have already approached officers with questions.
"We've had students come forward and ask for presentations and information around cyber safety and digital citizenship," she said.
She said students have shown interest in learning about conflict resolution, career pathways in law enforcement, and addressing issues such as vaping and substance use.
The program is currently focused on six high schools, but there are plans to expand it to additional schools in the future, contingent on the findings from the initial evaluation phases.
Previously, officers worked in 21 schools before the division halted the program in September 2020.
Peterson said both the division and EPS are committed to a transparent, community-centred approach that will ensure that all stakeholders have an opportunity to provide feedback and influence future decisions related to the program's implementation and impact.
The first phase of the evaluation will conclude in June.