AmericanPoliceOfficer: A course in character
New Course in Character Education from the Junior Police Academy
Media Kit: Access our complete library of digital media files (including a text version of this PDF, as well as logos and image files) go to http://min.us/mPresskit
New Course Explores Good Character Through the Eyes of American Law Enforcement The Junior Police Academy, a nationwide youth program, is pleased to announce the launch of American Police Officer, a new course in character education.  Taught in middle school by school resource officers, American Police Officer recognizes that police officers are uniquely qualified not only to teach, but also to inspire good character in our youth. “To truly inspire good character, you have to put kids in the room with it,� said Phillip LeConte, JPA Executive Director. “Over the past twenty years, the Junior Police Academy has been doing just that – proactively bringing young people and law enforcement professionals together.�  Styled after an actual police academy, the course explores the meaning and consequences of good character as seen through the eyes of law enforcement professionals – teaching students both the skills and the virtues needed to be informed and productive citizens. Good Character Detectives To pass the course, students must take the “JPA Good Character Challenge� –  a project which requires students to seek-out people from their community who exemplify the course’s seven core good character traits:  Justice, Diligence, Courage, Generosity, Integrity, Enthusiasm and Wisdom. “While the course provides students a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse into good character against the momentous backdrop of law enforcement; we end with the Challenge, revealing these traits at work in the students’ own life,� added LeConte, who authored the course. Pilot Programs Begin in Fall Nearly 600 police departments have requested American Police Officer, which is being distributed this summer from JPA’s national headquarters in Austin, Texas. Starting this fall, several cities will serve as pilot programs for American Police Officer, including Austin, Texas, Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Oblong, Illinois. The course is free to police departments and schools. Now in its 20th year, the Junior Police Academy often marks the start of a young person actively assuming their lifelong role as informed citizens, extending the program's true impact far into the future.
FAST  FACTS:  American Police Officer is a new course in character education from the Junior Police Academy. The course is taught in middle school by school resource officers. Nearly 600 police departments have requested the program which is being distributed this summer from JPA’s national headquarters in Austin, Texas. The course is free to police departments and schools.
1009 W. 6th Street, #205 Austin, Texas 78703 800-961-9773 JuniorPoliceAcademy.org contact@policeusa.com
Online Media Kit: http://policeusa.minus.com/mPresskit/1g
Students  first  take  the  course,  then  take  the  Challenge. Junior Police Academy GOOD CHARACTER Challenge:
Seek-out people from their community who exemplify‌
(Justice Diligence Courage Generosity Integrity Enthusiasm Wisdom)
(Police officer
Parent Teacher Business Leader Coach Minister ?)
Justice Diligence Courage Generosity Integrity Enthusiasm Wisdom
“The  Seven  Most  Inspirational  People  I  know.�
So what is good character? Where should we tell young people to look for exceptional examples of justice, diligence, courage, generosity, integrity, enthusiasm and wisdom? The movies? Great works of literature? A history book? Does “watch that” or “read this” really inspire kids? There is, however, another brand of good character, the kind that is rarely acknowledged, little appreciated and unfolds right before their eyes. “American Police Officer”, a new course in character building from the Junior Police Academy, challenges young people from across the country to seek out and discover good character in a place where it is abundant, but taken for granted – their home community. The course reveals how good character is the foundation for their daily life. It’s expressed in the quality of their communities; the safety with which they are able to move about, the care provided to those who are sick, the patient commitment of those who enrich their minds and the imagination and industrious spirit of those build and create. Justice, diligence, courage, generosity, integrity, enthusiasm and wisdom will, by the end of the course, be more than an idea defined (and confined) to a great novel or the pages of history. Each of these exemplary traits will have a name.
FAST  FACTS  • American Police Officer is a new course in character building from the Junior Police Academy. • The program is an extension of the Junior Police Academy’s central philosophy:  To truly inspire good character, you have to put kids in the room with it!  Over the past twenty years, the Junior Police Academy has been doing just that – proactively bringing young people and law enforcement professionals together. • Preparing young people to be responsible citizens is the obligation of adult citizens in the United States. This means providing young people with not only vocational skills, but also the qualities of character that make possible a life of dignity. • The students examine how American law enforcement officers put good character to the extreme test to meet the challenges of public safety. • Through the course students gain a fundamental appreciation for how good character is vitally alive in the world around them.  • Every community in the United States is brimming with excellent examples of good character. The problem is young people do not make the connection. • Taught by SROs or community police officers, American Police Officer recognizes that police officers are uniquely qualified to inspire students.
• Police officers hold an advanced degree in good character! They can’t hang it on a wall, but they can put it into the classroom to inspire a new generation to time honored values. • American Police Officer  culminates with the “JPA Good Character Challengeâ€? –  a quest requiring students to do some detective work of their own.  • Each student is assigned to be on the lookout for actions or deeds matching the description of Justice, Diligence, Courage, Generosity, Integrity, Enthusiasm and Wisdom. The Challenge is complete when the student selects someone who best exemplifies each trait. • JPA has created the Good Character Challenge Pin, which is awarded to students at the end of the course for an exceptional act of good character, the exact nature of which is only revealed to students upon successfully completing the Challenge. • Nearly 600 police departments have requested the program which is being distributed this summer from JPA’s national headquarters in Austin, Texas. • The course is free to police departments and schools.
“In this country, we are called to an ‘advanced citizenship’ which can only be realized when young citizens understand that they are stakeholders in our democracy,” said JPA Advisory Council member Chief Tom Clemons of Seward, Alaska. “The Junior Police Academy often marks the start of a young person actively assuming their lifelong role as an informed citizen – extending the program’s true impact far into the future.”
Chief Tom Clemons
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary Now in its 20th year, the Junior Police Academy’s impact can be measured across an entire generation of graduating cadets. Today, there are citizens across the country who better understand their civic responsibilities because of JPA – empowered to contribute to the life of their community and their country in ways that enhance public safety and solve problems. “In this country, we are called to an ‘advanced citizenship’ which can only be realized when young citizens understand that they are stakeholders in our democracy,” said JPA Advisory Council member Chief Tom Clemons of Seward, Alaska. “The Junior Police Academy often marks the start of a young person actively assuming their lifelong role as an informed citizen – extending the program’s true impact far into the future.”
For more information, visit JuniorPoliceAcademy.org.
AN HISTORIC TRADITION The value of police departments working with young people was recognized early on. “Junior” or “boy police” programs started appearing during the first two decades of the 20th century, sponsored by local police departments or schools in places like Berkeley, California; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Cincinnati, Ohio; and New York City. With the adoption of community policing in recent decades, programs embracing the original spirit of these efforts started to reemerge. Founded in 1992, the Junior Police Academy was among the first and has steadily established its leadership over the past 20 years. “The Junior Police Academy continues to enrich the lives of everyone involved,” stated co-founder Phillip LeConte. “While programs for ‘cops & kids’ have a long history, the Junior Police Academy has the distinction of elevating police/youth programming from ‘recreational activities’ to being an accredited part of middle school curriculum. In doing so, JPA continues to help reshape education and the role of law enforcement in America.”
The Junior Police Academy has built a nationwide program based on a simple, yet powerful premise: when law enforcement officers and young people are brought together, wonderful things start to happen! It is a chemistry completely unique to the educational environment – sparking an idealism in both students and police officers alike. In re-framing the traditional role of a police officer from enforcer to mentor, JPA elevates young people to be pro-active partners in building safer schools and communities. ACCOUNTABLE Targeting middle school students, the program is a more than just a police academy for young people – it also teaches life skills and cultivates personal accountability. “The youth who graduate from the JPA have a deep sense of responsibility,” said Officer Mitchell Garcia of the Houston Police Academy, Houston, Texas “Cadet are community oriented. They will become the adults who want to make a difference.” RESPECT FOR IDEAS JPA does not simply teach young people to respect authority or “the badge” – the program also emphases that police authority in the United States is derived from “the people” and its expectation that public safety officers act as a noble extension of our national identity.
"The JPA Cadets love every minute of it! The school administrators are very impressed as are city officials. I've had so many positive comments throughout the academy so far from parents and teachers. The biggest comments I have received are from teachers stating that homework has been getting done and the grades are improving from the Cadets that are in the JPA Program." Chief Chad Pusey Oblong Police Department Our objective is to teach youth what we really do and what they think we do. You need to be open to questions and I tell participants to ask questions. If you want to find out why someone got a ticket, ask. If I can talk about a case I will tell you about it. I will explain why. In DARE you can’t do that, in JPA you can. The joy of JPA is that it can be as structured as you want it to be. Strive to have a proactive approach to the community. It helps lessen the crime in your community. I give ownership of the class to the community. I listen to them. I talk to community members. When an issue comes up, they know we are going to get it resolved. It all starts back with the youth and if you can get them to believe in you and what you are trying to do you will have them as adults someday. First day of introduction is to let the students know how important it is to be there with them. They are my IRA. They are my retirement account. They will be the next police chiefs, lawyers, pilots and mayors. If I want my retirement to be in good shape I need to invest myself into youth. My officers are handpicked and just as involved in the youth as I am. You can’t buffalo youth. They are smarter than you think they are. You can’t fool them by being phony. Out of my 9th grade class there are at least 5 people that are seeking careers in law enforcement today. The Junior Police Academy provides an environment where law enforcers can simply be present.Young people will never come right out and tell you, but being there for them, being honest – one more adult they can trust, is very important. Chief Tom Clemons Seward, Alaska
Teaching adults is easy. They have an interest in what is going on in the community. High school students have a different frame of mine and a different curiosity. What I thought would be important to them would be things like learning about dog teams, repelling, juvenile questions. It was 180 degrees the other way. What I found was I didn’t know my students as well as I thought. So what we did to try and understand was to create a survey sheet. We put 26 different departments on the sheet with a short history of each one. The students were to rate them 1 to 26. We went to 5 different schools and then took an average of the top 10 or 15. From that list we made our classes. I thought they wanted to learn about fun things, but they were more interested in adult things such as juvenile violence, missing persons, homicide and CSI (Criminal Scene Investigation) It was a rude awakening to me because they were more mature than I thought they were. More research had to go into it for the youth, but it also gave me a new perspective that I didn’t know they were aware of. Officer Mitch Garcia Houston Police Department
Justice Diligence Courage Generosity Integrity Enthusiasm Wisdom
Mentor with a Badge: 20 Years of Inspiring Tomorrow's Citizen
To mark its 20th anniversary, the Junior Police Academy is publishing “Mentor with a Badge: 20 Years of Inspiring Tomorrow's Citizens� containing images and interviews with some of the many people who have been involved with and benefited from the Junior Police Academy program over the last two decades.
juniorpoliceacademy.org americanpoliceofficer.org New Course Explores Good Character Through the Eyes of American Law Enforcement
For Immediate Release:
July 4, 2012
Junior Police Academy, a nationwide youth program, is pleased to announce “American Police Officer”, a new course in character education. Taught in middle school by school resource officers, “American Police Officer” recognizes that police officers are uniquely qualified not only to teach, but also to inspire good character in our youth. “To truly inspire good character, you have to put kids in the room with it,” said Phillip LeConte, JPA Executive Director. “Over the past twenty years, the Junior Police Academy has been doing just that – proactively bringing young people and law enforcement professionals together.” Styled after an actual police academy, the course explores the meaning and consequences of good character as seen through the eyes of law enforcement professionals – teaching students both the skills and the virtues needed to be informed and productive citizens. The Quest for Good Character To pass the course, students must take the “JPA Good Character Challenge” – a project which requires students to seek-out people from their community who exemplify the course’s seven core good character traits: Justice, Diligence, Courage, Generosity, Integrity, Enthusiasm and Wisdom. “The Challenge seizes upon the central claim of “American Police Officer”, which is to put kids in the room with good character,” said LeConte, who also authored the course. “By formally acknowledging the people who enrich their life, students will come to recognize that they have, in fact, been ‘in the room’ with good character throughout their life.” Revealing the Secret of the Challenge Students who successfully complete the course are presented with the JPA Good Character Challenge Pin in recognition of their exceptional act of good character. (The exact nature their accomplishment is only revealed to student recipients upon presentation of the award.) Words spoken to recipients of JPA Good Character Challenge Pin: JPA’s Good Character Challenge Pin is awarded for an exceptional act of good character. By successfully completing the “JPA Good Character Challenge” and recognizing the people in your life who exemplify “Justice, Diligence, Courage, Generosity, Integrity, Enthusiasm and Wisdom” you have demonstrated what is, perhaps, the ultimate act of good character – gratitude. To perceive that which merits gratitude and to sincerely express it throughout your life is the very soul of good character. This is especially true in those moments when you are moved by an enlightened sense of justice, diligence, courage, generosity, integrity, enthusiasm and/or wisdom. We are proud to recognize your achievement. “While the national organization is proud to award students a pin for completing the Good Character Challenge,” said Kelly LeConte, JPA’s Program Director, “the enduring reward will be cultivated among members of your community. Years from now, citizens will look back in wonderment that being recognizing for good character remains one of their greatest moments of pride.” Nearly 600 police departments have requested “American Police Officer”, which is being distributed this summer from JPA’s national headquarters in Austin, Texas. # # #