Gettysburg Area School District School Resource Officer (SRO) Rich Keefer spoke to Rotary members regarding school safety within the school district at this week’s meeting. Keefer, who is a member of the Cumberland Township Police Department is a Gettysburg native, who attended Gettysburg Area High School, has three children enrolled in the school district. SRO Keefer is responsible for oversite of the five school buildings within the district and spends the majority of his time at the high school but also gets to the other four buildings and tries to interact with the district’s 3,000 students as often as possible. He said his interactions and approach with students certainly varies by age, but that he does get to at least speak to all students within the district each year. SRO Keefer said a positive initial interaction with students goes a long way toward a safe school environment. Current Rotary members Dr. Jason Perrin current GASD Superintendent and Dr. Larry Redding, previous GASD Superintendent both spoke highly of SRO Keefer and his interactions and ability to work to a positive outcome with faculty, staff and most importantly the district’s students.

 

Keefer said he is part of the team with the school district and take great satisfaction in teaching life lessons to students and keeping them on the right path within life. He also appreciates the support he receives from district teachers who allow him to sit in on classes and take the lead in classes to speak directly to students. Keefer has been trained on emergency situations and oversees the mandatory safety, evacuation drills and safety training for staff that the district mandates. Keefer believes that the GASD takes the safety of staff and students very seriously and is always looking for ways to improve it. He also believes his one on one relationship with students and that he gets to be a mentor to some of them makes the district a safer place.