Today was special. A day one of my students (and I) will likely never forget.

The day a police officer came to recess. Clarification…he stayed the entire recess!

Wait! You need to know this wasn’t just any recess.

It was KINDERGARTEN recess!

Officer Dennis walked around, laughing, talking, and interacting with students and teachers.

The recess interaction itself was extremely special, but the icing on the cake was this…

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. One of my students needed his shoes tied. Officer Dennis saw a need and stepped in to help.

Not only did he tie the student’s shoes…when he tied the first shoe, he gave him a sweet and thorough lesson on shoe tying. I was enjoying watching too much to record during the first shoe.

The second shoe was priceless.

Officer Dennis asked my student to teach him the steps, to guide him through tying the student’s shoe. It turned into the most precious repeat-after-me moment that I’ve ever witnessed.

Now, don’t you think you would remember the day your shoes got tied by a police officer…and you were taught how to ties shoes by that same officer?

This is a perfect example of an effective way to build relationships between law enforcement, the community, parents, teachers, and students. There are thousands of great officers working hard everyday to keep us safe.

I believe there are also countless officers working to build, rebuild, and strengthen relationships.

We have amazing police officers in our school district, and we are very fortunate to have Officer Dennis.

One simple act of kindness.

One police officer.

One kindergartner.

One purpose.

Building trust and relationships.