Don't Be Fooled, The World Is Full Of Really Good People

​I was tasked with leading a 4-hour training with new school resource officers in northern Virginia today. The training was on understanding the impacts of childhood trauma, adolescent development, and youth mental health. (All very integrated topics by the way).

I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the training. One, leaving the house at 4AM, driving through the rain - TO AND THROUGH NORTHERN VA - is not my go to plan for a day of fun. On top of that, it's hard to keep anyone's attention for 4 hours. And it's my experience that law enforcement folks are the hardest to keep engaged that long. Not that they aren't eager and respectful participants, it's just not in their nature to sit still for that long.

Trust me - I get it.

But, what a group. I sometimes wander out into the big world and find it hard to be hopeful for our youth. There's so much to navigate these days. Yet, when I sit in the small world of a group like these school resource officers, my heart spills over with hope. Not only did these officers tolerate me for 4-hours, they offered insights and engagement that made me feel like we have some lucky schools up there in Northern Virginia.

In a recent school climate survey of Virginia schools, 85% of our students said the presence of their school resource officers made them feel safer at school. Not just physically safe, but emotionally as well.

It's often our school resource officers that our kids turn to when they get to feeling like no one else will listen to them.

I left this morning embarking on a long drive thinking oh what a task I've gotten myself into.

Driving home, in that very same rain, I couldn't help but think what an honor I'd just been given.

The world is full of some really good people. There are days the world would like me to forget that. But days like this make it impossible to forget.

I spent the day with officers who won't make the evening news tonight, but they headline my news today. And frankly, that's the online headline I need to read today....