STROUDSBURG — Some hard working students in the Poconos got treated to lunch by the police. It’s part of a new program called “Lunch with the Law.”
The police are using this as a better way to get to know the students they protect.
Friday’s pizza party at Arlington Elementary School near Stroudsburg wasn’t just any old pizza party. The second graders got the chance to have “lunch with the law”
The new program was designed by two Stroud Area Regional police officers. They are the only two school resource officers in the Stroudsburg Area School District.
“It gives the police an opportunity to come meet the kids in the district and give them a reward for doing something good in their school,” explained school resource officer Emily Raymond.
The second graders earned their “lunch with the law” by completing a reading assignment. As a reward, the police officers bought them pizza and opened the floor to questions.
“What is on their belt?” asked one student.
“Is their vest bulletproof?” asked second grader Seth Bonn.
“Why do they shoot people, why do they do that,” wondered second grader Kaylee Gilliang.
Amani Emanuel says she wants to be a police officer when she grows up, so learning what these officers do means a lot.
“I learned that they only use their weapons for bad stuff.”
This is the second group to have lunch with the law and there will be more to come because the school resource officers truly believe it is important for students, throughout the district, to get to know them on a more personal level.
“The plan is to do every school in the district. We have seven more schools to do after this so, June will be the last month, so we’ll try to get it in before everyone goes home for the summer,” Raymond said.
The program just received a $300 donation from the Fraternal Order of Police. That money will be used for the upcoming Lunch with the Law events these officers are happy to provide.
