EVERETT — For most middle and high school kids, spring break means family trips, going to the movies and goofing around with friends.
For 25 Everett students, this year’s school vacation meant hanging out with the bomb squad, SWAT teams, drug dogs and a squadron of Everett police officers.
They weren’t in trouble. The group was the inaugural class in a Junior Police Academy put on by the Everett Police Department.
“It was the best spring break of my life,” said Sagar Gandhi, 14, an eighth-grader at Eisenhower Middle School. “I never had this much fun before.”
The students were nominated to participate by school officials. Five students from each of Everett’s middle and high schools were selected.
“We’re not looking for that 4.0 student or an at-risk student, we’re looking for good citizens,” officer Brad Williams said.
During four days, the students were introduced to many facets of police work. The idea was to teach them that being a cop is much different than what they see on TV and in the movies.
“For them it’s really an eye opener about what law enforcement is,” officer Meg Nelson said. She was one of five Everett police school resource officers who taught the academy.
There were demonstrations from the FBI and the bomb squad. The students climbed into a SWAT vehicle and sat in the pilot seat of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office rescue helicopter. They practiced patrol skills and learned how to pay attention to details, the organizers said.
“They thought they knew a lot about police work, but they’re realizing there’s a lot more to the job than they imagined,” Williams said.
Everett police adapted a national curriculum developed by the Junior Police Academy, a group affiliated with the American Association of Police Officers. It’s the first time the program has been used in Snohomish County, said Kelly LeConte, the organization’s director.
Paige Barrett, 13, a seventh-grader at North Middle School, said she enjoyed learning what goes into protecting the community.
“It’s been a blast,” she said.
She said she taught her parents to keep their hands where an officer can see them if they’re pulled over.
Some students already are headed toward a career in law enforcement.
Everett High School senior Chaz Altman, 18, is planning on going to Western Washington University and has signed up for the Coast Guard Reserves.
After that, he plans to stay in public safety, he said.
“I like helping people a lot. I think I have good people skills,” Altman said.
Others aren’t so sure.
Sixth-grader Kostas Nevratakis, 11, said he’d consider being a police officer but the idea has met resistance at home.
“My mom doesn’t want me to because it’s too dangerous,” Kostas said. “That’s why I want to be a lawyer.”
The weeklong class may be the last time some students talk about police work, officer Rick Somerville said. Still, they’ll likely remember the experience for the rest of their lives, he said.
He hopes the drills, class work and exposure to different law enforcement techniques has helped instill the students with purpose.
“What kind of person are you? What choices are you making when no one is looking?” he asked the students.
It’s those moments alone that build integrity in young people and that’s what he said he hopes the students will take away from the academy.
“That’s what builds character,” Somerville said.
Participating in the academy was a privilege and an honor, said Jake Bush, 12, a student at Evergreen Middle School.
“Most people are staying home and playing video games and we’ve been learning about law enforcement,” Jake said. “I really appreciate how the police officers took their time to teach us.”
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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