Kids First Program

By Alfredo Sanchez

December 7, 2015

It has been about a year now since the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) brought Denton leadership together to discuss how to avoid what happened in Ferguson from occurring in Denton.  As a result of the first meeting, both organizations partnered with the Denton Police Chief resulting in the Kids First Program.  Last year, several freshman classes at Denton High School were present for an hour and a half program.  The intent of the program was to teach youth how to interact with policemen when they have an encounter with a police officer.  The premise is that many of the police encounters, throughout the country, that have resulted in the death of a young person might have been prevented if police orders had been followed.  Not following police orders can escalate the situation resulting in injury or death.  The purpose of the program is to: 1) present police officers as fathers, husbands and not super heroes, 2) provide students with information on what an office can and cannot do, 3) provide scenarios, with only half the story and allow student to  voice their opinion, then follow with the whole story and see if student opinion has changed as a result of learning the whole story,  4)  inform students that if a police officer is not following protocol , the street is not the place to confront the officer.  Alternatives are to contact the police supervisor or organizations like NAACP and LULAC to assist with their case.  Many youths’ opinions about police officers are developed from television, social media, friends, parents, or a bad encounter with one police office.  The purpose of the program is to dispel the myths that students have about police officers.   In the fall semester of 2015 approximately 1400 freshmen have gone through the program with another 600 going through in the spring semester of 2016.  The information provided by the Kids First Program, to these freshman students, will be something they can use not only today but in the future.   Students can also use this information to dispel myths among their friends and family.