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B-P school resource officer receives national award

B-P school resource officer receives national award

Broadalbin-Perth School Resource Officer Nicole Buckley recently received the National School Safety Award from the School Safety Advocacy Council for her outstanding dedication to keeping students, staff, and schools safe. 

Buckley joined the Broadalbin-Perth family in 2022 and was assigned to the elementary school as one of the first SROs employed by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Buckley came to the school with training as a basic school resource officer and as a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) trainer. Over the past two years, Buckley has completed trainings in ChildFirst Forensic Interview, CPR/AED, ALICE, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools (TCIS), Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Officer, Stop the Bleed Trainer, Project LifeSaver, Threat Assessment Trainer, and Advanced School Resource Officer. 

“I honestly would not have been able to achieve this award without the constant support from Broadalbin-Perth's leadership, especially Superintendent of Schools Stephen Tomlinson and Safety Coordinator Wayne Bell,” Buckley said. “Every time I would mention to them a training that I was interested in or a topic I wanted to learn more about and understand, they always supported me. If anything, they have pushed me to be the best.”

Buckley attends many community events where she helps families obtain Child Safe ID Cards for their children. Buckley also serves as secretary for the sheriff's office Police Benevolent Association (PBA). In this role, Buckley has headed the Shop with a Cop program during the holidays, and has created a new program called WADDS: Walmart and Deputies Dress Students. The WADDS program allowed five schools in Fulton County to make a “wish list” of needed items that deputies shopped for with the support of Walmart. The schools keep the supplies on hand for students who might need something during the school day or to take home with them. Buckley also headed the inaugural Cops & Rodders Car Show in the spring, which raised money to support the PBA's work in the community.

During the school year, Buckley joins students in the classroom, reads books, and completes safety booklets with them. She spearheaded the return of the DARE program to Broadalbin-Perth last year with a 10-week program for sixth graders and an eight-week program for pre-K students. Buckley has introduced Cider with a Cop, Cocoa and Cookies with a Cop, and with Kickball with a Cop at BPES — all incentive programs designed to encourage school attendance. Last year, Buckley led the effort to ensure each classroom in the district was provided with an emergency bucket filled with supplies that might be needed during a lockdown or other emergency situation. Buckley has also spoken to sixth-grade and high school classes about drinking and driving, and gave students the chance to try on "drunk goggles" to help bring her lesson to life.

  • community
  • elementary