Page 21 - Scene Magazine 42-04 April 2017

Ask A Trooper
BY KRISTI ANGELO, MSP
The Teaching, Edu- cating, And Men- toring (T.E.A.M.) School Liaison Pro- gram is a school- based, “law related” curriculum, taught to grades K-12 by T.E.A.M. trained
police officers. Officers receive a 40-hour training program that introduces them to over 30 lesson plans they are able to pres- ent in their communities. The T.E.A.M. curriculum lesson plan introduces students to the importance of “Homeland Security” and their role in “Family Preparedness.” In addition to learning the curriculum, offi- cers receive training from content experts in student and juvenile psychology, class- room management, bullying and harass- ment, and school security issues.
I am proud to say that I was one of the first groups of troopers trained in T.E.A.M. when it was first introduced in 1998, by the Michigan State Police. I started the
T.E.A.M.
T.E.A.M. program in the Ypsilanti Pub- lic Schools as an afterschool program for “latch key” students.
T.E.A.M. is a program designed to pro- mote an understanding of social rules, the consequences of unlawful behavior and students’ responsibilities as good citizens.
T.E.A.M. training gives an officer the op- portunity to teach at any of the three grade levels of education, elementary K-5, middle school 6th-8th, and high school 9th-12th.
The elementary school curriculum teaches students basic safety rules such as bicycle safety, the proper use of 911, fire and gun prevention safety, and being safe on the internet.
The middle school curriculum is de- signed to encourage the citizenship skills of students and provides and understand- ing of rules and laws in society. It teaches teens how to recognize and raise awareness of personal safety issues. It shows the stu- dents the cause and effect of violence and teaches them how to deal with conflict in a constructive manner.
The high school curriculum gives a realistic picture of the role and responsi- bilities of law enforcement and the court system. It educates students in the prac- tical application of the constitutional law and creates awareness of personal safe- ty issues such as sexual harassment and bias-motivated violence, such as (hate crimes). The curriculum provides a real- istic look at the causes of anger and how to develop good conflict resolution prob- lem solving skills.
The curriculum includes a Family Preparedness/Homeland Security lesson for all ages to educate them on the impor- tance of being involved in their commu- nity and how to prepare for natural and manmade disasters. The lesson includes creating a “go-kit” that contains neces- sary items every family needs during an emergency.
If you are interested in more infor- mation on T.E.A.M. please contact me at (269) 558-0500 or email me at AngeloK@ michigan.gov.
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