It has only been a few weeks into the new school year, yet BH-BL’s newest School Resource Office (SRO) Pedro Garcia says he feels like he’s been here for years already.
“The students here are very welcoming,” says Garcia. “My first week was filled with lots of hugs from elementary students and fist bumps from the older students. Students are seeking me out and we’ve already begun building relationships.”
Saratoga County Deputy Sheriff Pedro Garcia has been a police officer for 14 years, including five years on the SWAT team. And, because he speaks fluent Spanish, he’s been recruited as a translator for multiple local agencies, such as various police departments, school districts, law offices, and the NYS Police.
Before becoming a Spartan, Officer Garcia began his School Resource Officer career three years ago in the Ballston Spa School District. At BH-BL, he replaces SRO Zach Cicardi who retired from the police force and is now the district’s Director of Safety and Security.
As an SRO, Garcia’s main role is to keep students, staff, and school buildings safe. Part of this is done through relationship building and earning trust with the students and the school community, as well as the community at-large. Being present throughout the day and at events, and being available for students is high on his to-do list. Additionally, Garcia explained, he became an SRO because he also wanted to focus on a different angle in law enforcement where he can connect directly with students at an early age to educate them about the realities of consequences.
“Part of learning is making mistakes,” says Garcia. “And that’s ok, but there are some mistakes that carry higher consequences. My goal is to educate students to understand the difference and guide them through the process by using teachable moments to stress the importance of thinking about the impact of their actions–on themselves and others–before they do them.
”This could include one-on-one or group interactions with students as well as bigger classroom or school assemblies and demonstrations about safety and obeying the law, respecting others and personal property, drug prevention, bullying awareness, social media pitfalls, driving awareness, good citizenship, and much more. While connecting with students and helping them unlock their potential is a highlight of Officer Garcia’s role, he also believes deeply in the power of setting a positive example.
“Setting a good example is crucial because children naturally model the behaviors they see,” adds Garcia. “Part of my job is to practice what I preach and lead by demonstrating the qualities that help shape them into kind, responsible adults.”
Officer Garcia put that philosophy into action just two weeks after joining BH-
BL. While keeping an eye on things during an O’Rourke Rec Night, he noticed a student and her mother were leaving a little early. He encouraged her to stick around, pointing out the great prizes and reminding her that her raffle ticket might be called. She said she was tired, so instead Officer Garcia tucked her raffle ticket in his vest and said he’d keep an ear out for her number being called. As fate would have it, the ticket was a winner. Once Rec Night ended, Officer Garcia called the student’s mother to ask if he could make a quick visit. When the student opened her front door, Officer Garcia was standing there with a brand-new art set in hand. “I told you you were holding a winning ticket!” he said.
“I think I made a lifelong friend that day,” added Garcia.