SRO Appreciation Day - Corporal Rogelio Navarro

Tell us a little about your role as an SRO. The title of SRO is still new to the students and parents when the kids start here at Edgewood. But the roles I fulfill are police officer, mentor/counselor, and teacher. Many parents have said they breathed a sigh of relief, knowing my colleagues and I are keeping the peace in the schools. My role has expanded from the SRO to cross-country coach and wrestling coach.

What was your inspiration behind becoming a school resource officer? I love the school environment. Last year, the Warsaw PD SRO unit handled over 1200 calls for service. We stay very busy, but working with the 12-14-year-old age group, we see them at their best and worst. We build rapport and future relationships. My inspiration is watching the kids I started working with eight years ago on high school graduation day and the small part I've played in making their goal of graduating happen for them.

What’s something you wish other people knew about your job? Our SRO job is not Monday through Friday, 7:00 hrs to 15:00 hrs. Our call volume is busy, and on an easy day, we are cheering on these students or, on the tough days, helping them through a crisis. A lot of time, I go straight from the classroom to a wrestling practice or cross-country practice.  

Why are school resource officers important? We are a pillar of the school district and community. We know the art of relationship building. We work hands-on day in and day out.

"I like working with numbers. My former assistant super asked me to track incidents.   came up with a spreadsheet that gave us comprehensive information. We started to look at the numbers and see who or what our challenges were; we began to troubleshoot problems.  My mentoring and counseling numbers have increased to be more proactive with our students who need extra guidance. Working closely with our counseling and admin teams, we have formed a great relationship."