East Brunswick Police Officer Helps Students Make Good Choices

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Officer Reggie Wright of the East Brunswick Police Department is a well-known figure among local students. Wright teaches 600 students in the fifth grade about making good choices every year when it comes to drugs, alcohol and violence.

Wright has taught through the Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence, or L.E.A.D., program at local schools since 2019. And through his interactions, he has had a positive influence on young people, he said.

“I truly believe in the curriculum. It’s character development, social-emotional learning curriculum for students,” Wright said. “And I feel like that’s just something that is vital and important for students as they’re growing from boys and girls to becoming productive men and women in our society.”

Police officers, teachers and prevention specialists in 40 states teach through the L.E.A.D. program, which gives children and young people the tools to make smart decisions without the use of drugs and violence.

When Wright first started teaching, he realized that students were not familiar with character development or social-emotional learning. “Mainly because their school day is comprised of traditional academic classes, like math, Spanish, English, social studies, history. So to have someone come in and actually talk to them about developing their character is something they’re not used to or they’re not usually exposed to,” Wright said.

“I think it’s a breath of fresh air for them,” he added. “Because it gives them a chance to think about their own lives, how they’re being raised, their peers. I think instead of just teaching them a curriculum, I’m actually talking to students about how they can develop to become better individuals and human beings.”

As he teaches students about drugs, violence, cyberbullying and other issues, Wright gets support from the East Brunswick Police Department. A member of the department’s community policing unit, Wright was given the opportunity to interact directly with students.

“I have a partner in community policing, Bruce Diamond,” Wright said. “He’s getting promoted, so he won’t be with me any longer. But we work well together, hand in hand. He does a lot of the administrative type of things, and it allows me the freedom to focus on teaching the L.E.A.D curriculum effectively.”

Wright is passionate about teaching and having a positive effect on students, and the police department allows him to focus on the curriculum during the school year.

As for the effect of Wright’s teaching, one student dressed as Wright for Halloween. “I came back to the school after Halloween and asked students how they celebrated. One student raised his hand and said he dressed as me because I had a ‘tremendous impact’ on his life,” Wright said.

“That broke me. I was standing there, tears streaming down my face. To me, that was reassuring and gratifying, knowing that I’m making a difference to the lives of boys and girls for generations to come.”

Wright isn’t sure how long he’ll continue teaching in the L.E.A.D program, and he is currently completing his doctorate in educational leadership at Liberty University.

Wright is a big believer in the “village mindset,” he said. “I believe in it takes a village to raise children. It is the responsibility of the parents, police department, librarians, teachers and so on. I think it’s important for parents to be involved,” he said.

“A lot of times parents and guardians focus on just academic success,” he added. “You can be a student that has straight As but can embody unhealthy qualities, can be someone that lies, is rude, mean, you name it. It’s important to instill the right character in children, along with academic success. That will help them achieve their goals in life.”

Go to the L.E.A.D website to learn more about the program.

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Original article: https://patch.com/new-jersey/eastbrunswick/east-brunswick-police-officer-helps-students-make-good-choices