By Krysta Huber
When Tasha Polly, a physical education and health teacher at Maury River Middle School, heard one of her seventh grade students speaking incorrectly about Virginia law and the consequences imposed on minors, she asked School Resource Officer Chris Norris to step in.
“I overheard the student saying things like, ‘Oh it doesn’t matter what happens to me because my record will just get wiped when I’m 18,’” Polly said. “So I approached Officer Norris and asked him if he would answer a few questions I proposed to him while the student listened.”
But Norris said he had a better idea: a course dedicated to teaching Virginia laws as they apply to minors, called “Virginia Rules.”
“[These laws are] something that most kids aren’t aware of, even as they get to be college-aged,” Norris said. “If they know what they’re going to be in for when they get into trouble, that could prevent them from getting into trouble in the first place.”
Norris said the course is an extension of the Virginia Attorney General’s office, which designed a curriculum to educate teenagers on the effects Virginia laws can have on their day-to-day lives.
The program was inspired by the “Virginia Class Action Program,” which was also started by the attorney general’s office in 1996. Like “Virginia Rules,” it focused on teaching Virginia teenagers about state laws. Its success encouraged the attorney general to create the “Virginia Rules” program.
The class covers laws about crimes against people and property, bullying, technology crimes, and a juvenile’s legal rights.
“It’s about teaching you the rules of the game before you play it,” Norris said.
For the last three weeks, Norris has been teaching mostly seventh and a few eighth grade students about topics such as alcohol and tobacco use, and drug use and possession.
Unlike D.A.R.E, a popular program from the 1980s that promotes resistance to drug use, “Virginia Rules” emphasizes the legal process.
“The ‘Just say no’ model of the D.A.R.E program can only go so far. Kids learn by example and unfortunately sometimes their home lives set a bad example,” Norris said. “D.A.R.E just said that drugs are bad but this program allows students to see the impact drugs could have beyond their health effects.”
Meth is one of the most abused drugs in the Rockbridge area, according to the Rockbridge Sherriff’s Office Drug Task Force.
Norris teaches once a week, in place of Polly and fellow physical education and health teacher Kirk Wheeler’s health classes. Wheeler said he was surprised by how well students have responded to Norris.
“Officer Norris is very interesting,” Wheeler said. “He keeps the students engaged and he puts a lot of personal experience into his teaching.”
Polly agreed.
“We don’t have any police officer stories the way he does – he’s lived it,” she said. “So he can answer some very specific questions the students ask him.”
The school did not make students available for interviews, but Norris said he is pleased by their interest in class. He said the student who first inspired the class has already provided positive feedback.
“When he walked into class and saw that I would be teaching his health class, he said, ‘Oh, I know what this is about and it’s going to be stupid,’” Norris said. “So I asked him at lunch the next day, “Did you think my class was stupid?” And he said, ‘No, I actually enjoyed it.’”
Norris said he uses humor to keep students engaged.
“It can be especially difficult to keep kids listening,” he said. “So I like to think my humor lightens the mood and helps them soak in all of the information.”
Laura Hoofnagle, a Rockbridge County School Board member and mother of a high school junior and college freshman said she was thrilled to hear about the new class.
“Any way we can educate kids about these topics – whether that be the physical effects or the legal consequences – is great,” Hoofnagle said. “So many kids think, “Oh this can’t happen to me,” but we need to show them there are consequences for their actions.”
Norris started working at Maury River Middle School this year. The school merged with Rockbridge County Middle School this fall, increasing the student population to more than 500 students. Norris said the school district wanted to hire a school resource officer to manage the larger student body.
In light of school shootings like that at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. last year, there has been a nationwide push for heightened security in schools, including hiring safety officers like Norris.
As a school resource officer, Norris maintains the overall security of Maury River Middle School and the Rockbridge County school district. During a typical day, he makes rounds in the halls between classes to prevent any altercations.
Just as his title indicates, Norris’s job is to act as a source of information and assistance for the student body.
“For a lot of kids, the only contact they’ve had with law enforcement is if we get called to their homes because mom or dad got in trouble,” Norris said. “I don’t want these kids to think that cops only come around when something is wrong.”
Wheeler said that having Norris as the school resource makes his class even better.
“The kids are clearly comfortable asking him questions,” Wheeler said. “He’s really made an effort to get to know every student by name, which is certainly difficult in a school that has more than 500 students.”