Reseda : Police Team Gives Special Ed Lesson

Los Angeles police officers have taught safety in schools for years. But reserve officer Fred Baron couldn’t help but wonder why students at San Fernando Valley’s five special education schools weren’t getting the same education on a more rudimentary level.

On Friday, Baron and three police officers changed that by bringing the POSSE Project--which stands for Police Officers Supporting Special Education--to 150 or so students at Joaquin Miller High School in Reseda.

Using posters and other visual aids, Baron, a retired businessman, taught his pupils how and when to dial 911 and how to recognize police in case of an emergency. He warned against talking to strangers.

Showing helmets, blaring sirens and communicating via sign language at times, Baron passed on a simple message: “We love you, we care about you and we’re here to protect you.”

Before designing the safety lesson, Baron spent a few days at Diane S. Leichman School, another special education school in Reseda, where he sat in on classes, learned about disabilities ranging from autism to cerebral palsy and even attended a dance. The point, Baron said, was to make sure his lesson would be understood by a variety of students.

After the assembly, students surrounded Baron and officers Tom Souza, Art Covarrubias and Vic Masi to talk, touch the officers’ handcuffs and sit in the back of a black-and-white patrol car.

“I thought it was great how the officers came up and talked to us individually,” said student Christine Fish, 17. “I just love the cops. They protect me.”