Northfield police provide safety, security at Nordonia Schools

by Chris Collins

In response to increased concerns about the safety of students in grades K-12 in Ohio’s schools, the Ohio Legislature passed a new law in August 2018, creating standards for school resource officers. Two Northfield Village police officers – Sgt. Brian Zambach and Officer Courtney Pratt – are certified school resource officers and share coverage of both Lee Eaton Intermediate School in Northfield and Ledgeview Elementary School in Macedonia.

Zambach and Pratt cover Ledgeview under a mutual assistance agreement with the Macedonia Police Department, that does not provide a school resource officer.

On a typical day, Zambach said he or Pratt will arrive at one of the schools when it opens to assist in traffic control, help students get into the building safely and make sure no unauthorized people enter the building. They then walk the halls to make sure all the exterior doors are locked once classes begin.

“They [students and staff] see us every day walking the halls,” Zambach said. “It builds that relationship we have with them. We’re there to help.”

Once the school day is up and running, the officers leave the school and resume routine patrolling of the community. They return to the school for lunchtime and recess for more student interaction. At the end of the school day, the officers return to the school to perform more traffic control and aid in the safe departure of students.

Zambach said he enjoys the interaction with the students and occasionally plays chess with one student at recess. He also has established a rapport with a non-verbal autistic student and said that could be helpful if the student wanders off. He said Pratt once participated in a walk-a-thon with students. They also help the school clerk by bringing things to classrooms from the office.

“The whole thing is developing that trust,” he said. “The officer needs to want to be there, or they’ll never be able to develop a relationship with the kids, faculty and parents.”

To become an SRO, an officer must attend a week-long training session at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in Columbus. There is also a three-day training session held each year in Sandusky to update SROs from across the state on new techniques and policies.

Zambach is a 25-year veteran of the Northfield PD and says the most important thing about being an SRO is that he wants to do it. He recalled an instructor at his initial training session asking the 400 officers present if anyone was forced to be at this training session and a couple of officers raised their hands.

The instructor then made the point that an officer must want to be an SRO, or they will never be able to develop a relationship of trust with the kids, faculty or parents.

“The whole point of being a school resource officer is that you’ve got to want to do it,” Zambach said. ∞