Since 2021, the Johns Creek Police Department has dedicated every Wednesday to reading to Fulton County Schools (FCS) elementary students within the Johns Creek city district. The program, titled Worth-It-Wednesdays, was conceived by Johns Creek Police Chief Mark Mitchell as a spinoff of a similar program he oversaw as police chief in the City of Canton, Georgia.
“We want kids running to us not away from us,” said Chief Mitchell, who is a 30-year veteran of policing. “We want kids to know that they have someone they can go to.”
The community officers who manage the program in Johns Creek find their time at each school is tremendously “worth it.”
“It is a great way for the police department to have interaction with the kids and build relationships at a very young age,” Johns Creek Police Communications Lieutenant Officer Debra Coble said. “The biggest benefit is building that bond with our community… and knowing that we are here for them. Very often, students will recognize an officer who read to them outside in the community.”
One of the schools that has benefited from the Worth-It-Wednesdays program is Findley Oaks Elementary School, where their kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders are participants. It’s a time for students to develop a positive rapport with the officers, passively learn more about the profession, and engage in meaningful interaction over story time in the classroom. Students enjoy getting badge stickers and meeting the canine officer, Pandora. Some students are more reserved when officers first arrive. Then after a time of reading and an impromptu question and answer period, those same students are fully engaged and, sometimes themselves, want to pursue a career as a police officer.
“The Worth-it-Wednesday program is a wonderful opportunity for our school to partner with the Johns Creek Police Department and to build positive relationships between our children and the police offers,” said Camille Christopher, Findley Oaks Elementary School principal.
Debby Sullivan, Findley Oaks K-2 literacy coach adds, “The students and teachers appreciate the officers’ willingness to take the time to read in their classrooms. These impressionable kindergartners, first, second, and third graders participating in the program can see that reading is an important skill in all stages and walks of life. Even police officers read!”
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