GARDEN GROVE : Heeding Call to Duty on Peer Patrol

The 20 new student safety officers at Clinton Elementary School are not just kindergarten cops. Clinton’s campus, which they are sworn to protect and serve, also has grades one through six.

“I think it’s cool to help the school, to keep all the kids safe so that nobody gets hurt,” said 12-year-old Jed Rios, wearing the royal-blue vest and yellow badge of a safety officer.

So far, the week-old program has reminded students not to run on the asphalt part of the playground or to misbehave in the lunch line. Safety officers also have told parents to drive carefully when dropping off and picking up children at school.

Although his first day on the job last week was a little embarrassing because of the uniform and wisecracks from a few of his fellow students, Rios said the program is important, helpful and generally well-received.

Many of the younger students see the officers as role models, and they want to become officers when they reach fifth grade, Rios said. “They’re listening. The young ones just hang around us safety patrol because they look up to us,” he said.

“It will make a better school,” said safety officer Susie Garibay, 12, while supervising a tetherball game. “It’s great because you can take care of the little kids and help the ones that need help. They feel safer.”

The safety officer program began last week with a special swearing-in ceremony at a school assembly. Principal Barbara Batson said the students were chosen after completing written applications and oral interviews. Out of 160 fifth- and sixth-graders who were eligible, more than 70 students applied to become safety officers.

Batson hailed the program as an excellent way to encourage student leadership and help teachers monitor the campus.

“These 20 kids are really indicative of what can be accomplished by the students within a school,” she said. “The other kids see them as leaders and have learned to respect their guidance instead of only the teacher’s.”

Teacher Pam Bunker said the officers were chosen for their willingness to guide, rather than command, others. “They’re not bossy. They get along with everyone,” she said.

The officers help students resolve disputes over game rules, often permitting witnesses to vote on whether a rule was broken. When the trouble is more than they can handle, the officers report it to a teacher.

Most students seem to favor the new program, although some of the older students say they’re skeptical that it does any good. Abel Mendez, 8, said he appreciates the officers: “If someone’s saying bad things to me, they stop them.”

Heather Allen, 11, said the program is a “good idea” for helping the younger students but added that some of the fifth- and sixth-graders resent it because it seems too much like the officers are “baby-sitters.”