With school threats increasing, school resource officers patrol the front lines

Rob Acquaviva has eyes all over Burrell School District.

The five-year school resource officer serves the district’s four school buildings and works as a law enforcement officer, public safety educator and informal counselor/mentor to students.

“The hope of the school resource officer is, if something were to happen, the kids know I’m a trusted adult,” he said.

In light of recent threats against schools locally and nationally, the school resource or police officer plays a key role in keeping campuses safe. Sometimes, they are the first to get a report from students about a threat.

Acquaviva estimates there have been more reported threats this school year than in prior years. Numerous local districts have reported threats, which turned out to be unfounded, against their schools — including Burrell and Fox Chapel Area on Monday.

The incidents occured after four people were killed and nine were wounded in a Georgia school shooting at the start of this school year. Experts previously told TribLive a high-profile school shooting often leads to a spike in threats.

At Burrell, Acquaviva is a Lower Burrell police officer assigned to the district.

“Nothing is more important than keeping this building safe,” he said.

In addition to providing safety and security, the school police officers in Greensburg Salem School District help to build positive relationships among police, students and staff, according to Superintendent Ken Bissell.

Greensburg Salem has a school police officer stationed in each of its five schools during the school day.

“We believe school safety starts with positive relationships between students, staff and the community,” Bissell said. “Our school police officers know and understand that their role is to help foster strong relationships and guide children into making good decisions. We do believe their presence as role models makes a difference for the students, staff and community.”

The evolution of social media has made threats against schools more common.

“Every threat is treated with the utmost seriousness,” Acquaviva said. “The trend is an image online that tends to get reshared. I treat every threat as serious.”

Burrell High School Assistant Principal Carla Roland, who is the district’s safety and security coordinator, said the district works on countywide and nationwide levels for school safety. A nationwide network, in tandem with the FBI, shares reported threats and their descriptions with school officials.

With reshares on social media, many details of threats can be duplicates and quickly deemed noncredible. She brought up a recent incident where the network was alerted about a common threat in New York that had made its way to Western Pennsylvania and was notified it could be headed to Westmoreland County.

“We are no longer on an island,” Roland said. “I do think it adds more levels of safety.”

A strong rapport between school resource officers, along with Acquaviva’s transparency with students and their families, has built a strong support system, Roland said.

“They know that what he is saying is true — even if it’s not pretty — it’s true, and it builds,” Roland said.

Acquaviva said he can be firm when needed but otherwise presents himself in a way that makes him approachable to students and staff. He aims to educate students to make safe and responsible choices.

“We are fortunate to have Rob here,” Roland said. “The more care and community-building now, the fewer criminal responses he has to have later.”

‘Most unique assignment’

Mo Canady, executive director for the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), said the position is the most unique assignment in law enforcement.

What makes a good school resource officer, Canady said, is someone who is a sworn, certified law enforcement officer — carefully selected by the school district — and is able to build relationships with students and staff.

“It needs to be an officer solely focused on that K-12 school environment,” he said.

Proper vetting is crucial, Canady said.

School resource officers and their programs can come under fire quickly after incidents of inappropriate conduct. Allegheny County Police this year charged a McKeesport High School security guard after, they say, she had an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Trends in hiring are like a pendulum swing, Canady said. Following a high-profile school shooting, there usually is a push nationwide to have law enforcement officers in schools. After a high-profile case of police misusing force, those conversations dwindle.

Trust crucial

Students and staff are the eyes and ears of a school, and an officer building trust with them can lead to threats and school violence being neutralized before they occur, said Aaron Vanatta, chief of school police and safety and security coordinator for the Quaker Valley School District.

Vanatta, who has spent his entire career working in schools, noted the position has evolved over the years.

“The concepts have changed to building relationships and building a good relationship where they feel comfortable sharing information with the officer,” he said.

After a targeted act of violence, people often say a suspect had warning signs all along, Vanatta said. A school resource officer should be able to develop relationships in the community so they become a trusted source for people to relay those warning signs, preventing a violent act from occurring, he said.

That is accomplished by the officer being visible in the school environment.

“When you’re able to see them, you can reach out to that kid before it’s too late,” Vanatta said. “On school safety, people think of cameras and metal detectors, but it boils down to prevention, and to prevent those things from happening, it boils down to relationships.”

NASRO recommends law enforcement officers have at least three years of experience and complete SRO training before being assigned to those positions. Officers should understand the education field and know how to work with students, Vanatta said.

“You have to be someone who’s helpful, someone they can have a rapport with,” he said. “It’s not an us-against-them mentality.”

New positions

Carlynton School District in southwestern Allegheny County has created a school police officer position with the goal of having one in place by the 2025-26 school year.

New state legislation will require all school districts to employ at least one security person for their district by 2025-26. Superintendent John Kreider said the state, through its Commission on Crime and Delinquency, is providing funding through grants that can assist districts in financing school safety initiatives such as creating a school resource officer position.

At the end of the 2019-20 school year, there were about 23,400 sworn school resource officers nationwide, according to a November 2023 report from the Department of Justice. Of those, 49% were employed by local police departments, 32% were employed by sheriff’s offices and 19% were employed by school district police departments.

Carlynton is creating a “comprehensive job description for the SPO,” Kreider said. That includes defining specific duties, responsibilities and expectations.

Kreider said while the officer’s primary goal will be to provide safety and security, Carlynton also envisions the role as an opportunity to build positive relationships with students and staff.