Inside a local school district prioritizing safety with its own police department

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — For nearly the last decade, Aaron Vanatta has been patrolling the halls of Quaker Valley schools. He was hired as a school police officer for the district in 2015 and serves as both the chief of school police and the district’s safety and security coordinator.

The upcoming school year, which starts this week, marks the first time the Quaker Valley School District had a police officer assigned to each of its buildings: the high school, middle school and both elementary schools.

At the end of last school year, Channel 11 spent a day with Vanatta at his assigned school, Quaker Valley High School. His relationships with students stood out almost immediately as he chatted with seniors about post-graduation plans, teased one about finally enlisting in the military as he’d supposedly talked about doing for months and followed up with another about a great job he had recently secured.

“He truly does an excellent job in building those relationships,” one teacher noted as he passed Vanatta in the hallway.

Even some of the students who admit they’ve had their growing pains with Vanatta have grown to respect him.

“At the end of the day, he’s still a good dude,” senior Connor Dennae joked with a nod of approval.

“He holds you accountable?” McGee asked.

“Yes ma’am. Oh, more than accountable! Yep. More than accountable,” he said with a huge grin.

Vanatta considers relationship building to be one of the most important tools for performing his job well. Devastating instances of school violence across the country underscore how critical it is that school staff can recognize a student in crisis.

“It’s connectedness and knowing the kids and understanding when they’re having a rough time and when they’re struggling,” Vanatta said. “So that we’re able to put some interventions in place before it’s too late so that we are not those folks on the news the next day saying, ‘Wow, we should have known.’”

“The job has changed over the years?” Channel 11′s Jatara McGee asked.

“Oh absolutely. Yes, it has. I mean it’s just a whole different world trying to keep up with all the technology and all the different trends,” Vanatta replied.

Among those recent changes are the popularity of vaping and trying to keep it out of school buildings and of course, the ever-changing social media landscape.

A school police officer’s role in a lower-level school looks a little different. While protecting students and staff remains the core responsibility, connecting with younger students can be a different kind of challenge.

Officer Tim Liberty is stationed at Edgeworth Elementary School and spends much of his time inside classrooms there, teaching students basic safety concepts like stranger danger and how to cross the street. The department has found putting officers in elementary school classrooms helps students see them as authoritative figures but also begins to build trust and fosters a sense of community over time.

For Liberty, his day-to-day is a 180 flip from the 23 years he spent as a municipal police officer and from the eight he spent as a school resource officer in a high school.

“It’s fist bumps, hugs and open milk containers at lunch. One of the hardest things you had to learn was how to tie a shoe when you’re looking at it,” Liberty said.

He aims to build trust with young students instead of a culture of fear, knowing many of the students have never encountered police before or may have but only in negative situations.

“I’m hoping to go zero arrests in my career,” Liberty said. “You’re dealing with kids that haven’t learned how to deal with all their emotions at this point.”

When a student is having a meltdown or being disruptive, Liberty said school staff will often use the school’s sensory room to let kids work out their emotions. There is even a punching bag for students to use if needed. Officer Liberty said he observes from a distance, only intervening if someone is at risk of getting hurt.

He said his current job has been the most rewarding of his career, and he has been able to see the growth in some of his students.

“We always joke around, and I always tell my friends I found the best job in law enforcement,” Liberty said.

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