Northville Public Schools has taken a monumental step to enhance safety and community relations within our schools by adding an additional School Resource Officer (SRO).
Brad O'Neill, principal, Meads Mill Middle School says, "There seems to be a lot of excitement around it, not just from our kids but our families and our community as well."
Northville Township Police Department in partnership with NPS helped hire Officer Robert McFadden. He will be stationed at Meads Mill Middle School but will also provide support to our other schools within the township.
"We worked alongside the district when we heard there was discussion around getting an SRO at the middle school level, so obviously not only do we have an SRO but I know Hillside’s in the process as well," explains O'Neill. "My first year here, about 10 years ago was the last time we really truly had an SRO that was here so we hadn’t had one for about 9 years."
Officer McFadden brings a wealth of experience and dedication to his role as SRO, having served as a Deputy Sheriff in Washtenaw County for over five years.
"The big thing for me is being a positive role model. I had the same people that I grew up with coaching wise, other officers at my school made a really big impact on me. I think for me that’s what I want to do and they kind of guided me through life and to this point now, I’m a police officer and I have the same opportunity to do that," explains Officer McFadden.
Officer McFadden, along with Officer Michael Brown, who has been serving as the SRO at Northville High School since 2021, will work collaboratively to create safe and inclusive environments for our students.
"It’s awesome that they’re going this route and I think it’s good to changing the dynamics of law enforcement into wanting to be a role model, want to be a mentor, obviously we have to do our jobs too in law enforcement aspect but kind of going that route is awesome to see that Northville supports that," says Officer McFadden.
In addition to Officers McFadden and Brown, Officer Andrew Domzalski will continue his role as the Community Service Officer, partnering with his faithful companion, Max, the therapy dog, affectionately known as "Paw-ficer" Max.
"I think there’s that relationship piece but also that safety and security piece that is vital to schools functioning at a very high level and everybody feeling like they’re being supported," says O'Neill.