Truman School Safety Agents (Back, L to R) Patterson, Ray, Roig, Nelson, Francis, Tejeda, Bruington, Elbert. (Front, L to R) Polanco, Parson, Pratt, Massac, Fuentes, Castillo, Sykes, Acevedo, Encarnacion, Hall, L3 Cherry
BRONX, NY – You see them every day. From the moment students and staff walk through the door of the building, the NYPD School Safety Division is a presence. Whether it’s checking in at the main desk, or helping students through the scanning process – these agents are hard at work making sure everyone in the building remains safe. Now, the Supervisor of School Safety for the entire Truman Campus is hard at work to build positive relationships between her agents and the student body.
“We want to improve the relationships with the students,” According to Level-3
Cherry. “We want a safe environment so they can learn.” Cherry is now a year-and-a-half into her role here at Truman and says that she’s seen positive growth – that she wants to continue building on.
Abel Alexander (Sr.) shows Agent Hall how to use a high-tech camera stabilizer. Oshawn Walker (Fr.) looks on.
“Even though they are here to do their job and keep everybody safe- a majority of them also take time out to be friendly towards students and engage with students,” according to senior media student and filmmaker Abel Alexander. ” They want to understand students in a deeper way, so that if there’s an incident – they can better relate to the kids involved.”
“I’d like them to be able to feel that they can open up with us. We’re not here to criminalize them,” Cherry said. “We want to build a good rapport with them and watch them graduate – as if we were a part of the [Department of Education] administration.”
Alexander related a story about one particular agent he sees on a regular basis at his post near the gymnasium. “Every day he asks me ‘how was class?’ ‘how have you been?'” Alexander added, ” They ask me about what kind of film I’m working on next. And it’s not only me – I see them doing it with other students also.”
Students or staff members who would like to know more -or just would like to say hello, the Truman School Safety Office is located in room 146.