GARFIELD — Rick Holland, school resource officer at Garfield Elementary School, knows the school well.
He should. Three decades ago, he was a student there.
Holland remembers when he was in sixth grade, he and other students voted on what the school mascot should be. The students selected the hound dog — still the mascot today.
Holland, a deputy with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office for the past seven years, volunteered for the assignment, and will attend training at the Criminal Justice Institute in Little Rock this spring.
“We’re just in the beginning phases,” Holland said, explaining when Sheriff Kelly Cradduck asked who would be interested in being a school resource officer for two schools in the county — Garfield and Cooper Elementary School in Bella Vista — he stepped up.
“Just his presence in the building is going to be helpful for the parents and students to continue to feel safe,” said Stephen Bowman, principal. Bowman is in his second year as principal at Garfield.
There are 130 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Garfield, which is in the Rogers School District.
“It’s exciting to know that the sheriff has taken the necessary steps to make sure our school is safe,” Bowman said.
Traffic near the school on Marshall Street in Garfield is a major concern, Holland said. The presence of a law enforcement officer in the mornings and afternoons when buses are entering and departing the property should help slow traffic, he said.
Holland said a resource officer interacts not only with the students, but also with their parents and the school staff.
“As a parent of three students at the school, I’m pleased to have a resource officer on staff,” Michelle Jones said. “It’s a more personal part of security that helps the students feel safe.”
At Cooper in Bella Vista, a part of the Bentonville School District, Matt Young, principal, said having a school resource officer has been “an amazing experience for our kids.
“Some have not had positive experiences with police officers before,” Young said, adding Holland is teaching the students a police officer is there to help them.
“He’s a resource for your whole life,” Young said. “It’s amazing, with him here, the parents have an extra feeling of security.”
“The sheriff is allowing me to head up the SRO program and visit with other SROs and get the basic knowledge necessary,” Holland said. “Going to classes will further that knowledge and I look forward to coming up with safety programs.”
Programs may include stranger awareness, gun safety, what to do in the event of an intruder, bullying, communication and getting along with others and saying “No” to drugs, Holland said.
“I want to instill in the younger children that they can trust police officers. We’re not there for discipline, but to help,” he said. “If they have a bad situation, I want them to know they can come talk to the SRO or any police officer.”
Holland, who was raised in Garfield, graduated from Rogers High School. He and his wife have been married 25 years and have two grown sons and one grandson.