Griffith Public Schools is adding technology solutions to the human touch in how they ensure the safety and wellbeing of their students, staff and visitors.
Leading that effort across the school district is its new Safety Director, Dan Young. Young retired from the Hammond Police Department in 2017 and then served four years as police supervisor for Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and as the School City of Whiting’s school resource officer (SRO) last year.
While he no longer serves a particular police department, Young is still an actual police officer. Having asked for and received a “special police officer” badge from the Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez, Young brings the versatility of being able to perform in a hybrid role as safety director and SRO.
SROs are full-time police officers assigned to school buildings, but if there is a coverage gap, Young, with his police powers, can step in. This year, under a revamped safety plan, Griffith High School, Wadsworth Elementary and Beiriger Elementary each have a dedicated SRO.
Young said that it’s uncommon to have SROs in every school, believing it demonstrates the importance Griffith places on safety — and one of the reasons he took the job. The Griffith police officers he hired as SROs this school year needed to have the right temperament for the job, Young says. As such, the SRO’s job is more about building relationships with students and staff — being a counselor and friend rather than assuming a “school cop” persona.
Choosing the right person for those positions was Young’s first major decision when he came on board in July. He chose Griffith Police Sgt. Jeff Gang to serve at Wadsworth and Ofc. Tony Hemphill at Beiriger, with Cpl. Pete Ghrist returning to Griffith High School where he had served as SRO from 2009-2020.
Ghrist has deep experience with Griffith schools, having conducted anti-bullying programs and sponsoring GHS Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Ghrist, the keynote speaker at GHS’s 2022 Commencement, now finds himself exploring the spiritual side of life as sponsor of the GHS Paranormal Society. Ghrist’s twin brother James is a school resource officer in Munster.
Eyes and ears
Ghrist, Hemphill and Gang, and teachers too, are Young’s eyes and ears. But what they can’t see, Demetri Blanco probably will. He spends his day watching an array of live security cameras placed throughout school buildings. An upcoming technology upgrade will furnish large flat panel screens for the walls of the office that the GHS assistant football coach shares with Young.
Additionally, Griffith utilizes Stratasite, enabling the Lake County Sheriff’s Department of view Griffith’s cameras in real-time if the need should arise.
Young acknowledges that GHS contends with issues like any other school district, vaping being a particular problem.
“You can pretty much place any type of drug in a vape,” he cautions. “It may not be only tobacco or marijuana.”
Teachers are expected to be attuned to the warning signs that a student may need some type of intervention. If there is a student at-risk, or just having difficulty coping for whatever reason they’re willing to share, Young and his staff hope they can find the best way to help the student deal with the issue. Sometimes, it’s the teacher who needs the help.
Security also occurs on the way to school and within social media chat rooms.
“What keeps me up at night is what’s going on off campus, the unknown,” Young said.
Human-canine threat detection team
Superintendent of Schools Leah Dumezich said she wakes up and goes to bed with the reality that a school violence incident can happen anytime, anywhere.
“We created the safety monitor position because we want to know if we have a threat before that threat enters the building,” she said. “That position helps us know where our students are at all times.”
She seconds the imperative of administrators and teachers needing to build positive relationships with students — and students amongst themselves. Dumezich is personally invested in that effort with a furry friend she brings to school each day, that being Finn, an emotional support dog who commonly interacts with students.
Soon to join them is Nala, a 17-week-old golden retriever who is currently undergoing 20 weeks of training at Landheim Training and Boarding Center in Dyer. Nala is being trained to detect firearms, narcotics, tobacco and even vapes.
Dumezich will handle Nala exclusively and is certified to handle both dogs. Now, a security team of both humans and canines has her believing that the school district is doing everything it can to maintain a safe and comforting learning environment.
“I’m really proud to say we have an officer in every building; there’s no coming and going,” Dumezich said. “Every student and staff member has a right to feel safe at school, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that.”
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
