School Resource Officer Creates Science Connection to Police Work

Frederick D. Thomas Middle School, School Resource Officer Corporal (Cpl.) Nick Yatsko’s top priority is keeping the middle school safe. In doing so, he makes it a point to be out and about in the building where students and staff can see him and talk to him regularly. A byproduct of this is established connections, relationships, and trust between both he and the students in the building.

On October 17, Cpl. Yatsko took his connection-building to the next level by spending time in Mrs. Jennifer Bradshaw’s 8th grade science class, where he spoke with students about the parallels between accident reconstruction and science. Although he serves as the School Resource Officer at Fred Thomas Middle School during the school year, Cpl. Yatsko is also a full-time police officer with the Lewes Police Department, carrying out standard law enforcement duties when school is not in session.

Discussion began with students identifying the types of things police officers will look at when they arrive at the scene of a car accident: skid marks, property damage, involved cars, and debris on the road to name a few. Yatsko then put the students to work, drawing diagrams of various accident scenarios on the smartboard, and tasking the students with identifying what happened and who was at fault.

“Hearing Cpl. Yatsko speak about accident reconstruction really helped students see how the science we study in class, like motion, force, and momentum, applies to real-world situations,” said Jennifer Bradshaw, 8th grade science teacher. “It made the concepts come alive and showed them how science plays a critical role in problem-solving beyond the classroom and in a variety of job roles.”

“I really enjoy showing students how the science they’re learning connects to what we do in law enforcement,” said Cpl. Yatsko.  “Accident reconstruction is all about applying physics and critical thinking to real situations, and it’s great to see students make those connections and understand how science can be used to help others.”