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S2 E14 - Keeping Our Kids Safe · Inside the OSD

• 0:00
  SPEAKER1: Today we're talking about kids and safety, and we will be speaking with some experts right here in the OSD: School Resource Officer Schewe and OSD
• 0:10
  parent and BeSMART advocate, Katie Smart, who will give us practical tips for keeping our kids safe.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids.
• 0:25
  Here is your host, lifelong educator in our superintendent, Doctor Leslie Bergstrom.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER1: Welcome. Let's get right to it.
• 0:34
  Let's start with you, officer Schewe, could you please introduce yourself to our listeners and your background in the OSD?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. Thank you for having me join you on this event.
• 0:43
  Uh, I'm Officer Kyle Schewe.
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  I'm with the Oregon Police Department.
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  I've been with Oregon for nine years.
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  I've worked, uh, many shifts in my time and twice with the schools.
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  This is my second time as the school resource officer.
• 0:55
  Uh, interesting fact.
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  I graduated from Oregon High School, and that was a very interesting thing for me to come back and holds a special spot in my heart for, uh, the schools and a
• 1:06
  very fun time for me to be involved in that way.
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  I cover all seven schools.
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  One thing that comes up a lot with parents is what school are you in?
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  And I cover all seven.
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  I typically stay in Oregon, but I make my way out to Forest Edge and Brooklyn on a regular basis and check in with them.
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  Uh, it could be seen at lunches, recesses, passing times.
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  So most of the time when kids are in learning, I'm maybe interacting with more administrative side.
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  But when the kids are out and about, I'm going to be out and about.
• 1:33
  So typically in a school or at a lunch or a recess is where you'll commonly find me.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER1: That's nice. Thank you, kyle.
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  Another interesting fact is I was your high school associate principal when you were in high school.
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  So I've, uh, basically watched you grow up.
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  And it was very nice to have you here, because anyone who meets you can tell immediately that you're well suited to working with students.
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  So what is special to you about being an SRO?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER3: Yeah, I've really enjoyed this role.
• 2:00
  It's, uh, I've always said this is the most rewarding thing I've ever done.
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  I enjoy this position a ton.
• 2:07
  I enjoy working with the youth in our schools, obviously.
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  Um, maybe a little bit in my head is that I was once in that world, and I find that I can be a great resource to kids families.
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  Um, the goal is always building relationships.
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  This isn't a punitive style program.
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  Our the chief -- chief Pagenkopf has built a great program in that it's not always the goal is not to, um, be punitive.
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  It's more of an educational resource to student and families.
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  And ironically, it's paid dividends for me is I don't always see it originally, but there's many a times where I'm out in the community with my family.
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  Or maybe I'm working in the summer when school is not in session and kids are comfortable, or as they grow into adults, they feel comfortable and come up to
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  me, um, compared to my partners, just because they know that we've built that relationship.
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  So there's a lot of work that goes into that prior to, uh, that relationship being built.
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  And it just shows in that world.
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  I don't always know what's going to happen, but it's when it does, it's very special.
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  And it really enjoyed that.
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  Uh, the other, um, aside from just simply getting to play maybe a game of kickball here or there, that's always a good time as well.
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  So a lot of time spent at lunch and recess.
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  We mentor, uh, you know, and the the great thing about this position is we have more time on our hands.
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  We sit down with families or sit down with the kid and educate them on the topic that maybe is coming up.
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  It might be as simple as, uh, something that wouldn't be normally something a police would deal with, but we're just going to educate on, "hey, this is what
• 3:33
  curfew laws are" or "this is what they are" so a kid knows what the answer -- I've had.
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  Um, one of the more interesting ones.
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  I had a kid one time talk about can he drive his tractor to school?
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  Um, so we educate on what the rules of the road are and things like that.
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  And always the most important thing in my world, I think, is I bring the parents in.
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  So before we sit and talk, we make sure the parents are on board and we're going to say, "hey, we just want to talk about this.
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  Are you okay with that?" They can be on the phone.
• 3:56
  They can come in.
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  Um, and we communicate that ahead of time and we try to make sure we get all that information out and help kids learn that.
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  As a student myself, I wanted to know, "what are the what do I need to know?" Otherwise, it's just very intimidating dealing with police or dealing with, um,
• 4:12
  real life situations.
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  So it's a chance for us to educate and talk through everything.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER1: Thank you. So in addition to your responsibilities in the school district, you're also a member of the Oregon Police Department.
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  So you have a community perspective too.
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  So what are the main safety tips you have for families about keeping kids safe?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah, one thing we talk a lot about with kids and families is just the main thing is communication.
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  Make sure that you're communicating with your kids and learning.
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  This world is ever changing.
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  I can say that obviously I haven't been in high school for a long, long time, but I can know that it's a lot different than when I was in school.
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  They're they're dealing with a lot more stressors than we.
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  It was social media and just, um, way more expectations than some of us even had as young youth.
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  Um, so make sure you're communicating and learning from them, helping them navigate these hard worlds, and especially post pandemic and things like that.
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  Uh, one thing that we deal with a lot in my role is internet and social media.
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  So just knowing those different sites that your kids are on and understanding them, and don't be afraid to ask.
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  If you need to work with a principal or the or the police, like we're all here to provide a resource to families.
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  This this isn't just a school resource officer for students.
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  Like, we will help families too in any way we can.
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  And the other thing that we're seeing, you know, we see things as substance abuse.
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  Um, it could be something as simple as like.
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  Nicotine, which is found at gas stations all the way up to, you know, larger issues that are really concerning for our community.
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  But know that we have resources available to help people that need help with that.
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  Um, we work through these issues with kids and talk to them about the different issues that come along with substance abuse.
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  So we try to be vigilant and help help out where we can.
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  Know that the police department has a lot of great resources for you.
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  Um, an example be like medication lock boxes.
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  We have a lot of those type of things that are available.
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  Um, when it comes to like firearms, we have items like gun locks that we provide there at the PD.
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  Please stop by if you ever need anything like that.
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  We're more than happy to find them.
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  We've actually at times found that some of our firearm um, locks were not the most effective.
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  So we've ordered different ones and help families get what is most beneficial to them.
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  SPEAKER1: Thank you. And that's a great segue to our next guest, Katie Smart.
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  So could you please introduce yourself to our listeners and your work with Be SMART?
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  Yeah. Thanks for having me today.
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  I really appreciate it.
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  Um, I am a mom of two.
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  I have a son at RCI and a daughter who's a kindergartner in Brooklyn.
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  Um, we've been in Oregon for about 11 years now, so I didn't graduate from Oregon.
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  Um, I wasn't in your high school, so she would not know -- I graduated from Verona, so it's close, but, um.
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  Yeah, I volunteer with an educational campaign called BeSMART.
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  Um, and the fact that my last name is Smart is purely a coincidence.
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  This is not my program.
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  It is a nice one. It's very nice.
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  Um, but BeSMART is -- it's a national program designed to promote awareness about the importance of secure gun storage and the roles that both gun owners
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  and non-gun owners alike both have a role in that.
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  Both can help keep kids safe through secure gun storage.
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  And so I work with BeSMART -- well, I volunteer with BeSMART and really try and get the message out into communities.
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  You know, our own community here, of course, as well as throughout Dane County, even throughout the state.
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  Um, just trying to spread the awareness and normalize the conversations around firearms and the importance of locking them up.
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  And one thing I do like to mention whenever I talk about BeSMART is that it is not a partisan program.
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  It's not a political program.
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  It really is all about safety.
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  Um, you know, I know things are partisan these days, many things that maybe even weren't before, but this one really just focuses on safety.
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  You know, we know that we all want kids to grow up happy and healthy.
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  We know that we all, um, have the right to make responsible decisions about how to protect our homes and our families and our communities, and that includes
• 8:06
  whether or not you have a gun in your house.
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  And if we can prevent even one child gun death or injury, it really is our responsibility to do so.
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  So I just I like to mention that because it really, you know, there is no stance on should you have a gun, should you not have a gun.
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  It's not that. It's all about the importance of secure storage.
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  Thank you. That's very noteworthy.
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  And what led to your involvement with BeSMART?
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  There are lots of wonderful things to volunteer for.
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  So what drew you to this?
• 8:31
  Yeah. Um, you know, school shootings are obviously scary.
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  Um, I was in high school when Columbine happened, and, you know, of course, they continue, um, you know, and I used to think before I had kids like, "okay,
• 8:44
  this, you know, this is a problem now, it won't be a problem when I have kids." And by the time they get to school and lo and behold, it's still happening.
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  Um, and so that was kind of, you know, what kick started it, I guess you could say.
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  And then, of course, having had kids puts everything into perspective.
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  And so, um, that really helped motivated -- helped motivate me.
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  And so, you know, I went looking to see what is out there.
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  I found the BeSMART program and was really drawn to that because, you know, it isn't political.
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  I liked that, I really liked that.
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  It's more about prevention.
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  And so how can we prevent it in the first place rather than reacting on the backside?
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  Um, I like the focus on the children.
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  You know, they are our most vulnerable group.
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  And so what can we do as an adult to help keep them safe?
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  And I also like that it really emphasized community involvement.
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  You know, I think that, you know, a lot of people expect schools to fix things or police departments to fix things or, you know, government.
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  And, you know, we all have things we need to do.
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  But this is also a community issue and things that everybody can have a role in.
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  Okay, that's that's a perfect way to move into the next question, which is what are some simple, practical things that families can do to ensure that their kids
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  are safe when it comes to firearms that may be in their own homes or homes of relatives or homes of the people they visit, or the the
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  families that their children visit?
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  Right? Yeah. That's so important.
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  Um, the Smart in BeSMART is an acronym.
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  So this is really a five step framework with five simple steps that everybody can do.
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  Um, so the S in Smart stands for Secure all guns in your homes and vehicles.
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  And so, you know, it's really about locking up the firearms.
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  You know, hiding a gun is not the same thing as securing a gun.
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  You know, you might think, "oh, it's hidden in the closet.
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  The kids won't find it." The kids do find it.
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  They know where stuff is.
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  I lock up Christmas presents for a reason because kids can always find them.
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  So, um, it really is about locking up the gun, you know, ideally storing it separately from ammunition, keeping them unloaded.
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  Um, because accidents happen.
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  And so, you know, in July of 2022 and in Milwaukee, actually, you know, there was an instance where a six year old unintentionally shot a three year old
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  because they found a loaded gun in a purse in the house.
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  And so, you know, it's -- it's tragic, it's awful.
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  And, you know, it is preventable because, you know, kids are not going to get their hands on a gun if it didn't first go through the hands of an adult.
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  So how can we be responsible?
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  Keep them locked up, keep them secure.
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  Um, the M then in Smart is Model responsible behavior.
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  And so you know that again is really about the onus being on the adults, not expecting a curious kid to find one and know what to do with it, but really
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  making the responsible the choice to lock up guns.
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  Um, one study had actually shown that one third of kids reported handling their parents gun and their parents didn't know about it.
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  So they do find them.
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  They can get their hands on them.
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  And so just, you know, being proactive in that.
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  And then of course, talking to your kids about it, you know, this isn't to say, "well, just don't have the conversation" because the conversation is still
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  important with them.
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  Um, but also recognize the role that you might have as a gun owner.
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  Um, the A in Smart gets a little bit to what you were talking about, which is Asking about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes.
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  And so, um, this one I really like, it's, you know, if you're sending your child to a playdate or right, to a family member's house, a friend's house,
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  asking about the presence of unsecured guns before you send them over.
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  Um, I think it can maybe feel a little awkward in the beginning, the first time or two that you ask, but I know personally, for me it has gotten much easier.
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  Now. I've I've asked that many different times, and the responses are always very positive, in fact.
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  So, you know, I'll often ask over text and, you know, people are like, "oh, that's a great question.
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  Maybe I've never been asked that or thanks for asking." Right.
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  Um, so especially, you know, with spring break coming up and other break periods, you know, kids are going to be out and about.
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  And so do you know where you're sending them?
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  Because we do have in the US, 4.6 million kids live in a house with, um, at least one loaded unlocked firearm.
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  So. Wow, it's yeah, that stat in particular is one that I'm always blows me away, even though I've I know it, but it's it's surprising.
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  And so I think it just really drives home the importance of asking about guns before sending kids to somebody else's house.
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  Um, the R - another simple step in BeSMART is Recognizing the role of guns and suicide.
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  Um, we know that nationally, over 700 kids per year die by firearm suicide.
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  Um, just really tragic.
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  Of course. Um, again, it is preventable.
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  We know that 90% of suicide attempts using a gun end in death, whereas 70% of people who survive a suicide attempt will never attempt suicide
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  again. And so, um, by having access to an unsecured gun, you are potentially taking away that second chance.
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  And, you know, we know kids are impulsive.
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  And so it's just being cognizant of that and and keeping all of that in mind.
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  That's a
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  SPEAKER4: powerful statistic.
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  The two of those together.
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  SPEAKER1: Yeah, absolutely.
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  It is. Um, and then the T in BeSMART is just tell everybody, you know to Be Smart.
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  So thank you for letting me come on and tell everybody I know to be smart.
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  But, um, you know, just really working to normalize the conversation so it doesn't feel awkward.
• 14:09
  Um, it really is an important piece, I think, to keep our kids and community and teachers and staff and everybody safe.
• 14:15
  Absolutely. And then finally, there's an upcoming class year leading through
• 14:18
  SPEAKER4: our community education program.
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  So can you talk with us about the logistics and what people can expect if they attend?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER1: Yeah. Um, so it's going to be Monday, March 18th from 6:30 to 7:30.
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  It's in person at the Oregon High School.
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  And we'll just talk about BeSMART.
• 14:33
  I have, um, kind of a community presentation that we'll go through that delves a little more into all of this.
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  Um, and then, you know, I'm really hoping for some good discussion from folks to see, you know, what do they think about it?
• 14:45
  Do they have thoughts on how maybe we could get the message out a little more broadly, maybe talk about how do you make that ask exactly before you send your
• 14:54
  kids over. So, um, you know, it's an hour.
• 14:57
  I'm and like I said, I really hope for some good discussion and some good back and forth on how we can make the program.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER4: Well, even if we just have a few families who then feel more comfortable asking the question, then that is worth an hour, isn't it?
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  That's right. That's great.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER1: And I have even found personally, if I have if my kids have friends coming over, I will offer up to their parents, you know, like, "okay, we're not a gun owner,"
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  so they can kind of have free reign of the house.
• 15:22
  Um, and oftentimes then I will get the response from that other parent, "oh, we don't have guns either, or we do, but they're locked up." So if you're not
• 15:29
  comfortable asking, sometimes putting yourself out there first.
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  SPEAKER4: Good tip.
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  SPEAKER1: Yeah, it can be helpful.
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  Yeah.
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  SPEAKER4: Well, thank you so much to both of you for your service, your efforts and your passion for keeping kids safe.
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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 Oregonsd.org/
• 15:51
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• 15:57
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• 16:03
  We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD, where it's all about the kids.