How are Anderson County school resource officers preparing for the new school year?

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — As a new school year begins, we wanted to shine a light on the men and women who wear many hats in districts across the state, the school resource officers (SROs).

In Anderson County, many of the district’s SROs were alumni and/or have kids who attend(ed) one of the schools.

But while most of the students and staff at Anderson County Schools spent the last few months getting some much-needed relaxation, for the SROs, like the SRO Supervisor for the district, Lt. Tony Likins, their summers have included still serving the community they hold near and dear.

This includes working the roads, covering shifts at either the local police department or the sheriff’s office, doing vehicle inspections, and more.

Likins and his team also continue to conduct various SRO trainings, as officers never know what each day may bring.

He said they have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

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Likins said one of the most important skills needed for their job is communication.

This doesn’t simply include communicating with one another, but with parents and especially students. Being open and willing to listen, Likins said, builds an indiscernible trust between the kids and the SROs and creates a powerful bond.

“A girl told me that the reason why she came up and talked to him is because she seen one of her friends talking to me and she seen that I was laughing and she seen that I was smiling and we were having a conversation just like two people would have, not as a SRO and a student, but as two just friendly people and that connection with those kids has made my leadership stronger,” Likins described. “They don’t realize they’ve helped me as much as I tried to help them. It’s like we’re our own little team. We call it Team AC.”

Unfortunately, while Likins said it’s great to have this relationship with the students he said every day during the school year, and he looks forward to seeing them once a new school year begins, he recognizes there’s a fine balance between being their friend and being an officer of the law having to protect them.

Whether it be an incident outside the school or inside, Likins said he and the rest of the SROs in Anderson County said de-escalation is the number one priority for any situation. This starts with using verbal commands to try to return things to normal.

If the situation continues to escalate, then officers will handle it accordingly, but that’s something they want to avoid at all costs.

“It’s conflict resolution first,” Likins explained. “I’ve learned a lot about that in schools. Show the kids how to deal with a conflict first and then try your best to resolve it with them by giving them ways to learn first and then look for the way out. Just because we’re having a conflict doesn’t mean that we’re enemies.”

Likins said while he and the rest of the SROs in Anderson County, along with district administrators, always want the schools to be a positive place, there’s a dark side to being an SRO and god forbid one of those dark moments happens. Officers will do everything possible to keep students safe.

With Anderson County Schools kicking off the 2024-2025 school year on Thursday, Likins said he’s excited to start a new school year and to see how much the students have grown during the summer.

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