Captain Jim Engen, Interim Chief Mike McCrary, and Detective Julian Gonzales of the La Palma Police Department recently recognized 65 sixth grade students who graduated from the Police Department’s “Police Interaction with Youth”(PIY) Program.
The graduation, held at Steve Luther Elementary School in La Palma, was also an occasion to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PIY Program, which 2,500 sixth grade students in La Palma have completed since the program began in 2006.
Sixth grade teacher Margi Sanchez announced the winners of the Essay contest, which was on what students learned from the PIY Program.
The winners were Michelle Waldman, Ebba Adinew and Sky McLean from Sanchez’s class, Kaitlyn Benda, Reuben Park and Jason Nguyen from Elizabeth Elmgreen’s class, and Noah Harper from Sue Ochoa’s class.
The Essay Contest Winners received a special medal for their writing efforts.
After three of the winning essays were read by Michelle Waldman, Kaitlyn Benda and Noah Harper, all 65 students received medals and certificates commemorating their graduation from the PIY Program.
According to Mrs. Teschke, Luther’s PTA generously donated over $1,000 to purchase tee shirts, medallions and certificates for the sixth graders.
In a letter to parents, Captain Jim Engen said that the PIY Program was designed as an eight-week student safety program to educate sixth grade students about laws pertinent to their age such as bicycle safety, firearms, drugs and alcohol, fireworks safety, disaster preparedness, and internet predators. He said that Officer Gonzales served as a role model and taught conflict resolution skills, which would give students “the ability and motivation to make proper choices when faced with peer group pressure.”
In addition, Gonzales also “discussed how to develop positive self-esteem and make students aware of the negative consequences associated with controlled substance and alcohol abuse.”
