Principal, school resource officer focused on comfort, safety for students and staff

Wednesday, December 12, 2018
City of McCook police officer and SRO (school resource officer) Michael Jordan, left, and McCook Senior High Principal Jeff Gross discuss the first semester at MHS during the community “gab session” “Coffee with a Cop” Tuesday morning at Sehnert’s Bakery in downtown McCook.
Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — Juvenile mental health issues and addictions worry McCook Senior High principal Jeff Gross, as well as classroom doorknobs that would not provide the best barrier during a live shooter incident.

But, Gross points out, he and school resource officer Michael Jordan, administrators, staff and teachers work hard to cultivate an atmosphere of comfort and safety for students on the MHS campus. “In today’s world, kids want a safe place,” Gross said. He is determined that his school will such a place.

Gross and Jordan were guest speakers during the December “Coffee with a Cop” community open forum session hosted by the Gazette and Sehnert’s Bakery.

At the beginning of the school year, Gross was concerned about an addiction to tobacco that some high school students seemed to have developed during the summer and brought to school with them when classes started again in the fall — that of “vaping,” using electronic cigarettes, vapor pens and/or “juuls” (jewels) to inhale huge amounts of nicotine very quickly. “Lots of kids were hooked,” he said Tuesday.

At the time back in August and September, Gross and Jordan and other school staff emphasized educating students — as well as their parents and the community — about the health dangers associated with vaping and the addictive properties of tobacco products. Many vaping products do not produce a visible puff of smoke, and some look just like writing pens and computer or camera information storage flash drives, so their use or possession can be concealed or camouflaged. City of McCook Police Sen. Sgt. Kevin Darling said that marijuana or cannabis in a juul has no recognizable odor.

Gross said that the typical cartridge of a vaping pen can be inhaled in three big breaths and can contain as much nicotine as one full pack of cigarettes. That’s an “overload” of nicotine, Gross said. Police Chief Ike Brown said the addiction is quick.

Gross said in September that he wanted the school to become proactive, rather than punitive. He wanted the emphasis to be on education rather than “catch and punish.” There ARE consequences (suspension from school and activities) for students using tobacco products on campus, but Gross said that punishment and discipline aren’t the school’s only recourse, and they’re not always the best approach.

Gross said that SRO Jordan “has done a tremendous job” making himself visible throughout the school and developing positive, not punitive, relationships with the kids. “Michael’s not in his office a lot,” Gross said, chuckling.

“He’s building a sense of trust … helping kids feel they can come to him, that they can feel comfortable in our buildings,” Gross said.

Gross thinks now that the educational approach has worked well at MHS. He said Tuesday morning that from a visibility standpoint and on a daily basis, there has been a remarkable decline in the incidence of tobacco use within the building and on the campus at MHS. “After that first blast, we’ve had maybe two or three tobacco violations,” Gross said. A violation two weeks ago was the first in more than a month, he said. “Use at school has been curtailed,” he said.

Gross said he wants students to report tobacco use, or drug use, or marijuana use, within the school to him or SRO Jordan. “We need people to report it,” he said. “Kids want to feel safe. They don’t want these things in here.”

Gross said, “Enhance the culture of the school, and we’ll have a great, safe place for kids.”

Gross said he received very positive feedback from parents (who might not have known what was in their kids’ pockets, he said) and the community about the school’s educational approach to the problem.

Vaping and illegal tobacco use by teens in definitely not just a McCook or MHS concern, Gross said Tuesday, explaining that the Attorney General and the federal health department are after manufacturers who market tobacco products to kids. Chief Brown explained that the FDA has issued orders to manufacturers that they have to prove they are not targeting kids, or face being shut down. “This is a nation-wide problem,” Brown said. “It’s not just McCook. There are lots of state and federal efforts to address it.”

Tobacco isn’t the only addiction that concerns Gross. He said that many kids are experiencing addictions, to pornography, to violence, to phone use, to social media, to prescription drugs. “If a kid’s up ‘til 2:30 in the morning gaming, he can’t make it to school or perform well,” Gross said.

Jordan said that so many kids get more of a positive feeling from a “Like” on Facebook than they do from human interaction.

Mental health issues in teens need to be recognized and treated, Gross said, explaining that maybe 70 percent of the students who have recurring contact with SRO Jordan are struggling with mental health problems — depression, thoughts of suicide, anxiety, family issues.

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While the school has its challenges, Gross said what it’s doing right is making academics its No. 1 focal point. “Our test results are good, but you can’t judge a school only on its test results. You have to judge a school on its ability to prepare its students to go out into the world and be successful,” he said.

“We want well-rounded students, and success for all our students,” Gross said. “Yes, you’re talking to the football coach,” he admitted, but he’s proud of his students’ endeavors and accomplishments in activities besides sports, naming particularly the mock trial team that qualified for the state competition this fall.

“We want to focus on all our students, and the success of everyone,” Gross said. “There’s great stuff going on here.”

Chief Brown said that, as a parent and grandparent of MHS students, he sees a high level of pride and a sense of ownership among all students.

Gross said the school’s mission is to gear every student for success in his or her chosen path. “We do work hard on career pathways,” he said. “The reality is, after meeting state academic standards, the pathways off of there are endless.”

Gene Weedin, a former educator, said that the schools can’t offer everything — as the group discussed auto mechanics, fabrication/metals, etc. — because of budgetary constraints. “But our administration is putting our students first,” Weedin said.

Weedin is impressed with students who are not only involved and committed to their school and activities, but also to their community.

Very involved students are also those who are the leaders of their sports, clubs, church groups and community activities, Gross agreed.

Weedin and Howard Kool reported that they have raised $1,615.99 of the $4,800 needed to purchase a portable ballistic barrier designed for use in a live shooter incident. “Hopefully, it gathers dust,” Kool said, “ … that we never need it.”

The 4x8-foot barrier provides a light-weight movable shield for law enforcement officers responding to a shooting incident.

As law enforcement and EMS learn how to respond to such horrific incidents and keep wounded victims alive, the shield has been developed to also provide protection for EMS personnel brought into a location by armed officers. This strategy will allow EMS to remove victims and get life-saving treatment sooner.

Kool and Weedin ask that checks and donations to the project be taken to the public safety center or mailed to the McCook Police Department, 505 West C, McCook, NE 69001.

Trying to make the school building itself more responsive to such an unthinkable incident, Gross said he wants the traditional door knobs (from the original 1955 construction) on classroom doors changed out to a newer design that can be locked/barred from inside the classroom. He acknowledges that it’s a long-term project because of the cost, but that’s what he’d like to see in the building.

The original design of the high school— with all its exterior doors — is another concern for Gross. “There are lots of doors here,” he said. “They take constant supervision and continual education for staff.”

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