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S3 E2: Meet Our New SRO! Ft. Officer Krantz · Inside the OSD

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  SPEAKER1: [POLICE CHATTER] The Oregon School District has five core values, and one of those values is strong family and community
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  partnerships. One of the many partnerships we have is with the Village of Oregon Police Department, who provides our district with a school resource
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  officer or SRO.
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  Today we're meeting up with Officer Krantz, our OSD School Resource Officer.
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  SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids.
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  Here is your host, lifelong educator, and our superintendent, Doctor Leslie Bergstrom.
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  SPEAKER1: Welcome, Officer Krantz.
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  Let's get right to it.
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  Could you please introduce yourself and tell our listeners a little bit about your background?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. Of course. Thank you for having me, Doctor Bergstrom.
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  I really appreciate it.
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  So, again, I'm Officer Joe Krantz with the Oregon Police Department.
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  Uh, a little bit about me and my background.
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  I grew up in the Waukesha area.
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  I went to high school at Brookfield Academy and then went to undergrad at both Saint Norbert College up in Green Bay and then UW Madison.
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  From there, I applied for the Oregon Police Department patrol position and went to the police academy at the Dane County Sheriff's Office Academy, and then from
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  there, I started my field training here on the road in Oregon in August of 2023.
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  And since then I was working patrol the last year or so out on the road in our community here in Oregon.
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  I have a wife, Maggie.
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  We were married last fall, and a little lovely, a little kiddo, four month old Joe Junior.
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  So that's a little bit about me.
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  SPEAKER1: Joe junior, that's so sweet.
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  So being an SRO is a new role for you.
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  And tell us how it's been going so far.
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. So I'm really honored to be able to be in our schools and be around our kids and help keep them safe, and that's the primary goal.
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  But so far it's been going really well.
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  Um, being able to meet students and teachers and develop those relationships between law enforcement and the community and just personally has been a really
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  great experience. So I look forward to meeting more and more people every day.
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  But so far it's been going very well.
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  SPEAKER1: Oh, that's great to hear.
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  So why was it important for you to take on a role in which you were working with kids?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. So I think now, as I mentioned, I have a little four month old child.
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  Um, so while my kiddo might not be in school yet, uh, being a good example and helping keep our school safe is a high priority in my life at this point, and
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  being able to develop those skills as I become a father and a role model in our schools was an ambition of mine before applying for the position.
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  And so I think this is a position that I'll really be able to develop skills in myself and help keep our schools safe.
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  So those were the two main reasons why I wanted to surround myself with the kids in our district.
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  SPEAKER1: It is funny how perspective changes when you have your own child, isn't it?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. I mean, you think about kind of the "what ifs" of everything with your own kid because you're responsible entirely for someone else's life, and that's the
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  responsibility I feel now in this position in the schools.
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  SPEAKER1: Thank you. So what are you looking forward to in the new position?
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  What specifically about it, either it sounds like it will be fun or it already has been?
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  SPEAKER3: It's already been very fun.
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  And I think, you know, obviously there's law enforcement duties that we have to carry out within the position, but the most interesting and most fun part of it
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  is interacting with the students and being a good example for them and having fun with them.
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  As you mentioned, it already has been fun.
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  I got to play some musical chairs basketball.
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  SPEAKER1: Oh, I saw that. That was fun.
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  Yeah, I didn't win.
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  SPEAKER3: There was, I think ten. I took maybe fourth place.
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  So the teachers had some good, uh, good competitiveness about them.
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  But, uh, I'd say those interactions with the kids and any involvement they have me doing, whether it's games or recess or I've been playing some four square
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  lately. Really? That's been a lot of fun.
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  Um, but very
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  SPEAKER1: different from patrol.
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  SPEAKER3: Yes, very. And that's.
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  Yeah, that's the key. I mean, uh, an emphasis in the school position is positive interactions whenever you can.
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  And just getting to know that the kids and to teach them that, uh, police officers are people, too.
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  And we're here to help, and we're nice people.
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  So, uh, getting to impress that upon them at a young age and be that positive example has been really rewarding for me so far.
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  SPEAKER1: That's wonderful.
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  So as you're aware, we work with you and the OPD and other safety professionals to ensure we have really strong protocols in place and people can find those
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  protocols at our website WWW.OregonSD.Org and then "/families/school-safety." So we
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  encourage listeners to learn about these protocols, because it's really up to all of us to ensure that we are keeping our schools safe.
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  And if families visit this page, they'll also see an emphasis on reporting safety concerns to a trusted adult, as well as information about a safety tip
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  line. So do you have any additional thoughts for families or students if there's ever a safety concern that they have?
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  Yeah.
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  SPEAKER3: So I know a lot of times families or students may be concerned about making a report due to not wanting to be known who it's coming from.
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  Right. And as you mentioned, there's a confidential safety tip line.
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  And that's called Speak up, Speak out through the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
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  And our school works very closely to make sure we monitor every report and treat every report very seriously.
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  So if a family is ever thinking there's anything that comes up that should be reported, whether it's a threat or something about someone's life safety or
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  anything that might kind of be on their radar, that "maybe I should say something about this." That program is there for a reason, and the police
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  department and the school district both take that very seriously.
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  So I would encourage families to utilize that resource whenever you kind of have that inkling or feeling that maybe something's not right here.
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  "Maybe I should talk to somebody about this." If you're having any concerns with wanting to make it confidential, use that Speak up, Speak out resource.
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  So I'd say that making us aware of whatever's going on is never going to hurt.
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  And us investigating something as the school and the law enforcement, um, hand in hand collaborating is how we keep our schools safe.
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  So definitely utilize that resource.
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  And that would be the advice I would give to families.
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  Um, think about your own children and about your friends in school and how even if you say something about what you saw or what you heard, that's going to make
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  a big impact and a big difference for our community.
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  SPEAKER1: Thank you. In addition to the resources on the website, I've noticed that there are posters in our upper grades in the schools that have our upper grades that
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  are related to Speak up and Speak out, and there's a QR code right on the poster where people can take their Chromebook or their phone if they had it, and
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  get right to the Speak out, Speak --Speak up, Speak out page.
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  So I think one of the goals that we've had is ensuring that this information is really accessible to kids.
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. And just to second that accessibility point that you can call the line, there's a text line you can call as well, which should be included on the poster
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  and the QR code. So really, there's many options for you as a student if you see something.
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  The QR code I think should be the most accessible.
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  SPEAKER1: And I never want to tell kids that the--a wonderful option isn't just telling an adult within the school, right?
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  So the Speak up, Speak out is a really important option and anybody can utilize it, but anybody can come to you directly when they see you in the schools to or
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  any of their principals or Are any of the teachers or other adults in the building?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah, exactly. There's a lot of trusted adults in the building.
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  And for a student who may not have a relationship with me yet, I'd say definitely don't have any hesitation to come reach out to me.
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  I look forward to getting to know everyone and to hear what you have and your concerns.
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  Otherwise, if you don't feel like doing that, that's totally okay too.
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  Definitely talk to a trusted teacher or school administrator and they can reach out to me as well if they need to get me involved.
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  So don't hesitate to talk to someone is the is the point.
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  SPEAKER1: Thank you. I think that's something that we can't emphasize enough, that if there's something on your mind that is making you concerned.
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  Tell somebody.
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  SPEAKER3: Mhm. Yeah it's in the news a lot lately unfortunately we see these very horrific stories.
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  And if there's any way we can avoid that and jump on it and investigate it before it is too late.
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  That's what we want to prevent.
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  SPEAKER1: So finally, in addition to your responsibilities in the district--school district, you're also a member of the Oregon Police Department.
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  So you have a real community perspective too.
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  Given that, do you have any safety tips you'd like to share with families?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. So sort of in the same theme of what we've been discussing, I think awareness and a responsibility of reporting things is something I'd like to
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  discuss with families and sort of a tip to provide.
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  Um, we're all out there driving on the roadway, and many of us live in the village of Oregon, which is, as a police officer, my jurisdiction.
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  So if again, even if it's not something that happens in school, if it's something on the roadway or something that's actively going on in the community,
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  make someone aware of it, because otherwise something likely won't be able to be, uh, be done about it.
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  Um, so I'd say that having an awareness for the responsibility to report something that's going on is really important, because, again, we want to help
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  our neighbors and our fellow peers and our students and our community.
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  Um, and again, that awareness, I think, can apply to driving behavior for new drivers in high school or for crossing a crosswalk.
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  If you walk to school and you're in elementary school, and if you're an adult driving to work, having an awareness about you and an awareness of your
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  responsibility in the community is is really important.
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  And that applies to me too.
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  I do live here in the village and even when I'm not on duty, you have a responsibility to pay attention and do your best to be a good community citizen.
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  SPEAKER1: Thank you, I appreciate that, and it's also lovely to hear that you're a community member in addition to someone who serves the community well.
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  Thank you very much.
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  We're really grateful for your service, your efforts, and your obvious passion for keeping kids safe.
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  So we're really excited to work with you, and we're glad you're a part of the team.
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  Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submit topic ideas on our website at Oregon
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  SD.org/podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
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  Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to get notifications on the most recent episodes.
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  We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD, where it's all about the kids.