Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) students have mixed reactions to the idea of having police officers back in schools.
MyMCM spoke with some students at Gaithersburg High School who said they would feel safer if there was a police officer present during the school day.
However, other students disagree with MCPS Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight’s proposal of the Community Engagement Officer 2.0 Model. The proposal would reintroduce armed police in schools and officers would have designated work stations at each high school, but would not be permanently stationed there. In comparison to the previous School Resource Officer (SRO) program, the officers would not engage in school discipline.
At a recent student vigil organized by Sunrise Silver Spring, those in attendance demonstrated their desire to keep schools police-free.
“Putting in the CEO 2.0 Program is not going to keep us safer, and it is actually just going to cause more trauma,” Miles, a 15-year-old freshman at Montgomery Blair High School, said at the vigil.
MCPS students also held a rally against police precedence in schools in February. Students told MyMCM they were against the CEO 2.0 Program and instead wanted to see more mental health support.
