HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — It's National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day and one local SRO working at Madison County High School shares this job is not just about keeping the students safe, it's also about building positive connections.
School Resource Officer and Madison County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jonas Wilson, says, "we come to work every day to help provide a safe education for the children and for the faculty here at every school that we are in charge of."
Deputy Wilson says every day on the job looks a little different but keeping the school safe and secure is top priority.
"We patrol our hallways, we check our doors, make sure everything's locked. That's the prime number one aspect of what we need to do…is keep a secure school," Officer Wilson said.
Currently there are 15 full time SRO's along with 3 part-time SRO's within Madison County Sheriff's Office.
It's a selective hiring process and it takes about a year to get an SRO up and running.
"We do our own in-house training and in-service training, and we try to stay current to up-to-date events so we can better help the school that we're assigned to," Officer Wilson said.
Officer Wilson says over his 14 years of being an SRO, the students are why he is happy to come to work every day.
"The children are what keeps me going to be able to come in and see their smiling faces and to hear what they've done over the weekend and what their team sport has done, you know, to be able to be a part of that and to be a part of their lives," Officer Wilson said.
And on this SRO Appreciation Day, Officer Wilson has received all sorts of thanks but he really wants to give credit to the Madison County Community.
"I'm a father of four, so I've always loved children and this has been my calling… inside the schools, I wouldn't want anything else. And that is my appreciation to the Madison County community and the Madison County Sheriff's Office. Thank you for letting me be a part of that," Officer Wilson said.
Madison County Schools and Madison County Sheriff's Department say their goal is to bring more SRO's into the school system.