Keeping the school safe, monitoring visitors that come in and out of the school, regulating traffic in the early minutes of a work day— these are just some of the tasks that the job of School Resource Officer entails. When an officer not only does these duties, but also contributes more to their school or community with their job, they receive recognition with this award.
The Ohio School Resource Officers Association recognizes these exceptional SROs with the School Resource Officer of the year award. In June of this year, Officer Scott Dressler received this award for his own outstanding work in the Revere Local School District. His dedication to his profession, the students, and his personal work in community service activities made him eligible for this award as his contributions never go unnoticed.
Initially, Dressler actually wanted to be a teacher when he began college. When plans and aspirations changed, he underwent the police training program and eventually became an officer.
“I got married and didn’t want to finish school, so I took some police tests and got [into] the police department when I was 21 years old,” Dressler said.
After that, Dressler spent time as a police officer in Richfield before becoming an SRO at his first school, North Randall. Eventually, he ended up in a school one way or another when he became a SRO, now instead of teaching in the schools he made sure they were secure. While both teaching and being an SRO both include interactions with students, the tasks of an SRO may be more unknown than the other. Having eight years of experience from North Randall and Revere combined, Dressler described his daily duties.
“My main goal on a daily basis is safety and security. So making sure the kids get in safely, making sure the buildings are locked up at that time, making sure there’s no visitors that don’t belong in there. Making sure it’s safe inside the school and the exterior of the school . . . I get my hands in a little bit of everything,” Dressler said.
Dressler made sure to involve himself with numerous activities, even though he was not required to do them based on his job description. On his social media, he posts himself at canned food drives, fundraisers, and other community events.
The superintendent of Revere Local School District, Dr. Mattew Montgomery, cited these reasons as why he decided to nominate him for his award.
“He is involved with the drills, organizing, Stop the Bleed training, his work with the vaping detectors, his overall work with trying to organize the food pantry with Richfield Police, that’s one thing that did happen during the pandemic that he went above and beyond [when] he organized a food pantry for our . . . local families that need it,” Montgomery said.
Despite the difficulties, Dressler still manages to do his job whilst connecting with the students and the community.
“I had to really feel [the job] out because the SRO before me was the first [officer] in Revere. So, when I came in, I had to see how things were in the past. So I wanted to see things, but then I wanted to make it my own too. So it took about a good six or seven months, if not the whole year for me to really figure out what I needed to do here,” Dressler said.
Montgomery believes that Dressler staked his claim in the school and says Dressler has excelled in helping to create a genuine connection with the staff and students of this school.
“He knows our students and families on a first name basis and he works to support them in any way possible whenever he is needed and he looks for opportunities to meet peoples’ needs even if they’re not asking for it,” Montgomery said.
Kari Parsons, the Executive Director of the OSROA, who worked with other members of the association to choose Dressler as the winner, listed some of the reasons why Dressler was chosen.
“His humility, never quit attitude, selflessness with his time, anticipation of student needs, level headedness in crisis, his ability to draw his students, staff and community together to solve problems,” Parsons said.
Overall, Parsons stated that he won the award because of the changes he made with student interactions while also completing his job efficiently and with ease.
“[T]he difference Officer Dressler made in the lives of specific students, the school and a whole, the community outside of the school, along with outstanding monitoring skills,” Parsons said.
Dressler’s favorite part of the job is the interactions he has with his students and community.
“I would say just the interaction with the kids on a daily basis rejuvenates me, you know, I’m getting older and it makes me feel young again and keeps me more active and learning all the pop culture and social media. So it really keeps me on my toes,” Dressler said.
Despite COVID-19 making the favorite part of his job difficult, he still communicates with students when he can. Walking around the lunch tables, sharing laughs with students on his off time, his personable nature and numerous contributions to the school and community are prime examples of why he won this award. According to Montgomery, his friendly and easy-going nature makes him the best candidate for his award.
“That’s one of the reasons why he was named the Ohio School Resource Officer of the Year because he is an exemplar of how a school resource officer can make a positive impact in a district. He is only one person and the ability to develop relationships from Richfield with the primary kids up into high school . . . Officer Dressler is able to work with any type of student, any type of person,” Montgomery said.
Although COVID-19 prevents a proper ceremony for his award, be sure to congratulate Officer Dressler for this award if you haven’t already. Dressler’s contribution to this school and community goes beyond his typical job duties; he finds ways to interact with and make every student’s school experience better while securing the school.