Portage Township Schools is eager to announce our unified partnership with the Porter County Sheriff’s Office.
This collaborative effort will preserve the uninterrupted safety of our students and staff while including the law enforcement agencies that serve our township. Our students will have the opportunity to build relationships with these officers of various backgrounds and learn about the jurisdictions that serve our communities.
“The Porter County Sheriff’s Office is excited to expand its commitment to the safety and security of every school in Porter County, which includes providing school resource officers to Union, Boone, East Porter, and now Portage Township school systems,” Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds said.
“Expanding our One County, One Protocol philosophy under the direction of the Porter County Safe Schools Commission, of which I am the president, is an initiative I am very proud of and what has been accomplished in the past four years.”
Our partnership will bring Portage Township Schools two full-time School Resource Officers from the Porter County Sheriff’s Department and a number of supplemental officers to serve in our schools. One full-time officer will serve Portage High School, and the other full-time officer will serve each of our middle schools. The supplemental officers will provide additional coverage throughout the district, including our elementary schools. Portage Township Schools would like to continue working with our Portage Police Department officers, and we invite and encourage them to apply for a supplemental position.
Our Portage Township Schools employees, students, and families can expect us to maintain our SRO man hours, which has doubled since last school year. They can also expect these SROs to be trained in school safety techniques, know our students, protect them, and defend them, should the need arise. All Portage Township Schools SROs will adhere to the standards and training provided by the National Association of School Resource Officers, which aligns with the PTS Comprehensive and Collaborative Approach to School Safety.
The Portage Township Schools SRO program is one part of our overall school safety plan that allows us to focus on the well-being of our students. Portage Township Schools is committed to the safety of our students, employees, and families, and partnering with the Porter County Sheriff’s Office will support a safe and positive culture in our schools.