S3 E2: Meet Our New SRO! Ft. Officer Krantz

Today we’re meeting up with Officer Krantz, our new OSD School Resource Officer. We'll learn a little bit about him, what he's looking forward to, and tips for keeping kids safe.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER1: [POLICE CHATTER] The Oregon School District has five core values, and one of those values is strong family and community (00:00):
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partnerships. One of the many partnerships we have is with the Village ofOregon Police Department, who provides our district with a school resource
officer or SRO.

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Today we're meeting up with Officer Krantz, our OSD School Resource Officer.

SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids. (00:28):
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Here is your host, lifelong educator, and our superintendent, Doctor LeslieBergstrom.

SPEAKER1: Welcome, Officer Krantz. (00:41):
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Let's get right to it.
Could you please introduce yourself and tell our listeners a little bit aboutyour background?

SPEAKER3: Yeah. Of course. Thank you for having me, Doctor Bergstrom. (00:50):
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I really appreciate it.
So, again, I'm Officer Joe Krantz with the Oregon Police Department.
Uh, a little bit about me and my background.
I grew up in the Waukesha area.
I went to high school at Brookfield Academy and then went to undergrad at bothSaint Norbert College up in Green Bay and then UW Madison.
From there, I applied for the Oregon Police Department patrol position and wentto the police academy at the Dane County Sheriff's Office Academy, and then from

(01:18):
there, I started my field training here on the road in Oregon in August of2023.
And since then I was working patrol the last year or so out on the road in ourcommunity here in Oregon.
I have a wife, Maggie.
We were married last fall, and a little lovely, a little kiddo, four month oldJoe Junior.
So that's a little bit about me.

SPEAKER1: Joe junior, that's so sweet. (01:37):
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So being an SRO is a new role for you.
And tell us how it's been going so far.

SPEAKER3: Yeah. So I'm really honored to be able to be in our schools and be around our kids and help keep them safe, and that's the primary goal. (01:45):
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But so far it's been going really well.
Um, being able to meet students and teachers and develop those relationshipsbetween law enforcement and the community and just personally has been a really
great experience. So I look forward to meeting more and more people every day.

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But so far it's been going very well.

SPEAKER1: Oh, that's great to hear. (02:08):
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So why was it important for you to take on a role in which you were workingwith kids?

SPEAKER3: Yeah. So I think now, as I mentioned, I have a little four month old child. (02:15):
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Um, so while my kiddo might not be in school yet, uh, being a good example andhelping keep our school safe is a high priority in my life at this point, and
being able to develop those skills as I become a father and a role model in ourschools was an ambition of mine before applying for the position.

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And so I think this is a position that I'll really be able to develop skills inmyself and help keep our schools safe.
So those were the two main reasons why I wanted to surround myself with thekids in our district.

SPEAKER1: It is funny how perspective changes when you have your own child, isn't it? (02:49):
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SPEAKER3: Yeah. I mean, you think about kind of the "what ifs" of everything with your own kid because you're responsible entirely for someone else's life, and that's the (02:53):
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responsibility I feel now in this position in the schools.

SPEAKER1: Thank you. So what are you looking forward to in the new position? (03:04):
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What specifically about it, either it sounds like it will be fun or it alreadyhas been?

SPEAKER3: It's already been very fun. (03:14):
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And I think, you know, obviously there's law enforcement duties that we have tocarry out within the position, but the most interesting and most fun part of it
is interacting with the students and being a good example for them and havingfun with them.
As you mentioned, it already has been fun.
I got to play some musical chairs basketball.

SPEAKER1: Oh, I saw that. That was fun. (03:31):
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Yeah, I didn't win.

SPEAKER3: There was, I think ten. I took maybe fourth place. (03:35):
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So the teachers had some good, uh, good competitiveness about them.
But, uh, I'd say those interactions with the kids and any involvement they haveme doing, whether it's games or recess or I've been playing some four square
lately. Really? That's been a lot of fun.
Um, but very

SPEAKER1: different from patrol. (03:51):
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SPEAKER3: Yes, very. And that's. (03:52):
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Yeah, that's the key. I mean, uh, an emphasis in the school position ispositive interactions whenever you can.
And just getting to know that the kids and to teach them that, uh, policeofficers are people, too.
And we're here to help, and we're nice people.
So, uh, getting to impress that upon them at a young age and be that positiveexample has been really rewarding for me so far.

SPEAKER1: That's wonderful. (04:15):
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So as you're aware, we work with you and the OPD and other safety professionalsto ensure we have really strong protocols in place and people can find those
protocols at our website WWW.OregonSD.Org and then "/families/school-safety."So we

(04:35):
encourage listeners to learn about these protocols, because it's really up toall of us to ensure that we are keeping our schools safe.
And if families visit this page, they'll also see an emphasis on reportingsafety concerns to a trusted adult, as well as information about a safety tip
line. So do you have any additional thoughts for families or students ifthere's ever a safety concern that they have?

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Yeah.

SPEAKER3: So I know a lot of times families or students may be concerned about making a report due to not wanting to be known who it's coming from. (05:00):
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Right. And as you mentioned, there's a confidential safety tip line.
And that's called Speak up, Speak out through the Wisconsin Department ofJustice.
And our school works very closely to make sure we monitor every report andtreat every report very seriously.

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So if a family is ever thinking there's anything that comes up that should bereported, whether it's a threat or something about someone's life safety or
anything that might kind of be on their radar, that "maybe I should saysomething about this." That program is there for a reason, and the police
department and the school district both take that very seriously.
So I would encourage families to utilize that resource whenever you kind ofhave that inkling or feeling that maybe something's not right here.

(05:45):
"Maybe I should talk to somebody about this." If you're having any concernswith wanting to make it confidential, use that Speak up, Speak out resource.
So I'd say that making us aware of whatever's going on is never going to hurt.
And us investigating something as the school and the law enforcement, um, handin hand collaborating is how we keep our schools safe.

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So definitely utilize that resource.
And that would be the advice I would give to families.
Um, think about your own children and about your friends in school and how evenif you say something about what you saw or what you heard, that's going to make
a big impact and a big difference for our community.

SPEAKER1: Thank you. In addition to the resources on the website, I've noticed that there are posters in our upper grades in the schools that have our upper grades that (06:21):
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are related to Speak up and Speak out, and there's a QR code right on theposter where people can take their Chromebook or their phone if they had it, and
get right to the Speak out, Speak --Speak up, Speak out page.

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So I think one of the goals that we've had is ensuring that this information isreally accessible to kids.

SPEAKER3: Yeah. And just to second that accessibility point that you can call the line, there's a text line you can call as well, which should be included on the poster (06:49):
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and the QR code. So really, there's many options for you as a student if yousee something.
The QR code I think should be the most accessible.

SPEAKER1: And I never want to tell kids that the--a wonderful option isn't just telling an adult within the school, right? (07:05):
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So the Speak up, Speak out is a really important option and anybody can utilizeit, but anybody can come to you directly when they see you in the schools to or
any of their principals or Are any of the teachers or other adults in thebuilding?

SPEAKER3: Yeah, exactly. There's a lot of trusted adults in the building. (07:25):
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And for a student who may not have a relationship with me yet, I'd saydefinitely don't have any hesitation to come reach out to me.
I look forward to getting to know everyone and to hear what you have and yourconcerns.
Otherwise, if you don't feel like doing that, that's totally okay too.
Definitely talk to a trusted teacher or school administrator and they can reachout to me as well if they need to get me involved.

(07:47):
So don't hesitate to talk to someone is the is the point.

SPEAKER1: Thank you. I think that's something that we can't emphasize enough, that if there's something on your mind that is making you concerned. (07:50):
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Tell somebody.

SPEAKER3: Mhm. Yeah it's in the news a lot lately unfortunately we see these very horrific stories. (07:59):
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And if there's any way we can avoid that and jump on it and investigate itbefore it is too late.
That's what we want to prevent.

SPEAKER1: So finally, in addition to your responsibilities in the district--school district, you're also a member of the Oregon Police Department. (08:11):
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So you have a real community perspective too.
Given that, do you have any safety tips you'd like to share with families?

SPEAKER3: Yeah. So sort of in the same theme of what we've been discussing, I think awareness and a responsibility of reporting things is something I'd like to (08:26):
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discuss with families and sort of a tip to provide.
Um, we're all out there driving on the roadway, and many of us live in thevillage of Oregon, which is, as a police officer, my jurisdiction.
So if again, even if it's not something that happens in school, if it'ssomething on the roadway or something that's actively going on in the community,

(08:52):
make someone aware of it, because otherwise something likely won't be able tobe, uh, be done about it.
Um, so I'd say that having an awareness for the responsibility to reportsomething that's going on is really important, because, again, we want to help
our neighbors and our fellow peers and our students and our community.
Um, and again, that awareness, I think, can apply to driving behavior for newdrivers in high school or for crossing a crosswalk.

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If you walk to school and you're in elementary school, and if you're an adultdriving to work, having an awareness about you and an awareness of your
responsibility in the community is is really important.
And that applies to me too.
I do live here in the village and even when I'm not on duty, you have aresponsibility to pay attention and do your best to be a good community citizen.

SPEAKER1: Thank you, I appreciate that, and it's also lovely to hear that you're a community member in addition to someone who serves the community well. (09:38):
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Thank you very much.
We're really grateful for your service, your efforts, and your obvious passionfor keeping kids safe.
So we're really excited to work with you, and we're glad you're a part of theteam.

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Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submittopic ideas on our website at Oregon
SD.org/podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to getnotifications on the most recent episodes.

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We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD, where it's all about the kids.