WASHINGTON — D.C. leaders are taking two concerns and combining them to potentially solve a problem.
As Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. police make moves to try to retain sergeants and detectives, D.C. schools is kicking off a program to give students interested in law enforcement a head start.
Sequan Cannon, 16, comes from a law enforcement family, so when the Anacostia High School sophomore learned he can take criminal justice courses as part of his school’s new Public Safety Academy, he and 60 other students jumped on board.
“It feels good because I know I already have a plan leaving high school,” Cannon said.
The program includes criminal justice classes, such as Introduction to Law, Public Safety and Security, as well as paid internships.
It’s an early start that 20-year-old Treyvon Greenfield has a unique perspective on, having learned about the cadet program through the fire department by chance.
“It’s great they’re doing it now in high schools,” Greenfield said. “A lot of students don’t know what they want to do — if they want to go to college, if they want to start a career or how to start a career, so that they’re doing it in high schools starting at 10th grade, it’s even better.”
Only 11-months into the program, Greenfield will soon be one of D.C.’s finest, hoping to serve on its emergency response team.
“Those young people are going to grow up to be cadets and make $30,000 and then $50,000 and support families in this city,” D.C. schools chancellor Kaya Henderson said.
Henderson, who will step down as chancellor this fall, praised the teamwork of the Washington D.C. Police Foundation, the mayor’s office and the University of the District of Columbia for making the Anacostia Public Safety Commission possible.
“At the end of the day it’s about jobs,” Henderson said. “And we figure we shouldn’t start that after they finish college or whatever, we should start that before they finish high school.”
“This program with the cadets that we’ve been able to accomplish with the mayor, the schools, the police foundation and with UDC is the future of our schools,” said Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham.
