NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Newport News Police Department announced that officers have "adopted" all of the city's elementary schools just in time for the start of the year.
The Adopt-A-School program assigns at least one officer to each elementary school. The officers, and some non-sworn employees, will regularly visit the schools to help mentor students.
The elementary school mentors will schedule, around their police department duties, to stop by and greet students as they arrive at school. The officers or other employees might also ready inside the classroom, join students at lunch or recess, and be there for special activities.
To be clear, these officers are not school resource officers.
The program is part of Chief of Police Steve Drew’s goal to increase officers’ interactions with elementary school children.
“It’s extremely important our officers have positive interactions with the younger members of our community,” Chief Drew said. “We want to build relationships with our citizens while they’re young to earn their trust and to inspire them to reach their fullest potential.”