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| The School Resource Officers of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office |
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| Cpl. Gerard Muschette |
Today, Feb.
15, 2022, is National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day, established by
the National Association of School Resource Officers.
All three
public high schools and four public middle schools in St. Mary’s County have
School Resource Officers assigned to them, provided by the St. Mary’s County
Sheriff’s Office, a program that first began locally in the 1998-1999 school
year.
Corporal
Gerard Muschette has been the School Resource Officer at Great Mills High
School for three years. It was an assignment that the Corporal sought out
voluntarily.
“I wanted to
help the kids. I saw a problem in some of our youth,” in the challenges they
faced, “not having a good direction,” Muschette said.
Muschette
said he personally speaks to students each school day, not just about problems
they may be having, but about issues in everyday life. There are about 1,700
students attending the school.
The most
rewarding part of his job as a School Resource Officer “is seeing the
transformation of the kids,” Muschette said, in seeing them overcome
challenges, seeing them mature, seeing them graduate and having a career or
educational plan after high school – “seeing these kids grow into young men and
women and knowing I’m a part of that,” he said.
“It’s going
to take the community to make sure our kids, who are our future, continue to go
on the right path,” he said.
Cpl.
Muschette has been with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office for eight years,
is a School Resource Officer, a member of the Emergency Services Team and also
coaches football at Great Mills High School.
Captain Steven Hall, Commander of the Special
Operations Division, which oversees the School Resource Officers, said, "I am proud of all of our School Resource Officers and the important role they play in the daily lives of students. Our officers serve as mentors, problem solvers and positive role models; they truly make a difference in students' lives."
DFC Artina Alvey is the School Resource Officer for Margaret Brent Middle School.
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| DFC Artina Alvey |
Cpl. Shaun Carberry is the School Resource Officer for Leonardtown Middle School.
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| Cpl. Shaun Carberry |
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| Deputy Robert Chase |
Cpl. Jaime Davis is the School Resource Officer for Leonardtown High School.
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| Cpl. Jaime Davis |
Cpl. Blaine Gaskill is the School Resource Officer for Chopticon High School.
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| Cpl. Blaine Gaskill |
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| Cpl. Dustin McClure |
