Niwot High campus supervisors receive commendation

Around lunchtime on February 20, a scary situation unfolded outside of the entrance to Niwot High School when a belligerent 51-year old man tried to enter the building and confront a staff member. But thanks to sharp-eyed campus supervisors La'Mar West and Andrew Hart, the would-be intruder was quickly subdued, and no students or faculty were harmed. Recently, the pair was honored by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office for their "exceptional performance, achievement, and exemplary initiative" in keeping the school community safe.

"Andrew and La'Mar are the best campus supervisors I've ever worked with, by a wide margin," Niwot principal Eric Rauschkolb said of the pair. "They care about kids, and they are great at building relationships. They have fun, but they are great at keeping our campus secure and free of threats."

It's that last part that impressed Sheriff Joe Pelle, who presented the honor on May 31 via a surprise video conference arranged with Rauschkolb.

"I think this could have been a really bad situation had the gentleman gotten into the school," Pelle said of the incident, which resulted in five criminal charges against Erik Hecht-Nielson of Longmont. "Unfortunately, it was quite an ordeal to take the man into custody, and I don't think our deputy would have been able to do it on his own. He would have had to have help, but our second and third cars were five and 10 minutes away, and that's a long time when you're wrestling somebody. These guys just stepped in to keep the campus safe. I think their instincts were excellent. Nobody got hurt thanks to their actions."

For West and Hart, stopping the suspect was all in a day's work, albeit an eventful one. Both were appreciative of the recognition, but said their primary mission is ensuring the safety of the Niwot High community, so confronting the potential threat to teachers and students on that Thursday afternoon was never in question.

"His intent was malicious all the way around," Hart said. "We recognized the situation very early, and communicated, and intervened, and he never gained access to the building. We had redundant systems in place to make certain he wasn't going to, even if our efforts didn't succeed outside. So we were pleased that our systems were tested, and confirmed. That was a big plus for us."

Dealing with incidents such as this is thankfully rare in St. Vrain Valley schools, but both Hart and West said that there's no such thing as a "typical" day for a high school campus supervisor. Most of the time, the two spend their time quelling minor student conflicts or curbing rambunctious behavior in the halls, but with the sprawling grounds at Niwot, they're prepared for any eventuality.

"With the open campus-with county trails going right through the middle of it-this is very much a public area," Hart said. "We get so many people coming in and out with as much use as we get on the athletic fields, and as many people use this as a rendezvous point, but you'd be surprised at how many just approach the building and ask to use the restroom. You wouldn't think that would happen too much these days, but it does, and unfortunately, it's usually awkward when we have to turn them away. But hopefully we navigate the line well with regard to security and making sure that we're a welcoming public place."

In their roles, Hart and West maintain a "nice synergy" with BCSO sheriff's deputies Eric Underwood and Pete Rosales, who serve as school resource officers in SVVSD. Underwood was on hand during the February 20th incident at Niwot, and ultimately arrested the suspect with West and Hart's help. Hart said that the four of them form a "cohesive" team when it comes to keeping the peace at Niwot High, "Eric and Ken are not your typical SROs. They're invested. I don't mean to say that others are not-I was an SRO up in Estes, and I hope I was invested-but those guys just bring it to another level. They are veteran cops, they are dads, and they get it."

The issue of police on public school campuses has come under scrutiny across the country and in Colorado in the wake of several high profile incidents involving police violence and the resulting wave of mass protests. On June 11, the board of Denver Public Schools voted unanimously to end its contract with the police starting with the 2021-22 school year, citing concerns that students of color are disproportionately the target of law enforcement efforts. So far, there are no calls to do the same in St. Vrain Valley schools, much to Pelle's relief.

"Our schools are just a bit more remote, so if there were an emergency or crisis of some kind in a school, then it would take us five to 10 minutes to get there, because we're so spread out. Having somebody on site is reassuring."

Pelle also said that his office uses tools such as restorative justice and mediation to help minimize negative interactions between students and police, something that was confirmed by Hart and West.

"They make certain that we're in our own lanes," Hart said. "If they see something that they're pursuing that isn't a criminal incident or doesn't really need that kind of focus, they'll definitely pull us in, so kids aren't overwhelmed by cops. I can't tell you how many times a day kids say 'Hey, is Underwood or Rosales around?' so they can bump some quick question off of them, even if it's about their license plate or whatever. But they're there, and they make that connection, and there's positivity."

For both Hart and West, those positive connections with students are not just the key to maintaining order, but also the reason they do the job in the first place.

"We know the kids, we know their families, and we know what they're up to," West, a Niwot High grad himself, said. "We look at it like if the kids come in safe, they're going home safe, and if they didn't come in safe, they will go home safer than when they came in."