I spent the better part of a Friday afternoon recently at Roosevelt Elementary School in Dolton.
Let me tell you, love was everywhere.
Some of it was in the gymnasium, where Riverdale police officers — including the chief himself, David DeMik — were giving tennis lessons to the school kids.
OK, they weren’t teaching the kids as much about playing tennis or the scoring system as they were having fun with them.
In one of the school’s classrooms, the officers and school workers talked with the kids about everyday life.
What they do. How they deal with crime. They asked how the kids view them. Assured them that they were on their side.
They called it social/emotional training.
“I call it the Friday Night Special,” School Dist. 148 administrative assistant Dedra Burnett said. “Every Friday here is great. It’s been a wonderful way to end the school year.
“The police are engaged.They love the kids They respond well with the kids and the kids respond to them.”
Serve & Connect.
What a great name for a great program initiated by the United States Tennis Association Foundation at sites across the country. It was run locally through the Dist. 148 ACE Project.
A year ago, I had the good fortune to check out Return The Serve Fun Day at the Riverdale Park District tennis courts. That had a similar vibe, with kids from Roosevelt Elementary in Dolton and Washington Elementary in Riverdale taking part.
Adding police to the mix, however, made this year’s visit even more special.
The Serve & Connect program was held for nine weeks, with police officers from both Dolton and Riverdale taking part.
I’d venture to say that the police got just as much out of it as the kids.
“These kids, most of the time when they see us on the street it’s because something bad has happened,” detective Ivan Lugo said. “It was great that they got to see the human side of us and the fun part of us.
“Most of us became kids on the court, too, playing with them and running with them.”
And most important, they became mentors, communicating and bonding.
“I think it definitely changed a lot of the kids’ perspectives of us from Day 1,” officer Illease Martin said. “They weren’t too easy with the interaction at first, but then they got more comfortable with us.
“Each week, they’d run up to us and hug us and tell us about their day.”
Hearing that, in a time when it seems only the dark side of law enforcement finds its way onto the TV screen … I mean, what can you say? Nice going, USTA.
Joe Palicki, assistant principal at Roosevelt, called it “spiritually uplifting.”
“It was such a great opportunity for our students, our families and community members,” Palicki said. “And it was good for the local police coming in and working in a different environment than they’re normally used to.”
It made an impact with Arthur McDonald, whose granddaughter Tiffany took part in several of the sessions.
“It’s great that they’re taking time out with the youth,” McDonald said. “Police officers are not bad, They are here to help the community, help the children. This is a great thing for them to do.”
It especially hit home for Riverdale officer Tracy Lewis. He brought along his three children on the day I attended. He looked as though he had the most fun playing on that court. Maybe it had something to do with being a 1990 graduate of Roosevelt.
He had a great way of tying tennis in with teaching life lessons.
“We want the kids to understand that they can come to us if they have an issue,” Lewis said. “Even if they can’t talk to mom or dad, they can come to us like we’re a coach.
“We want them to know that ‘protect and serve’ is not just a slogan. It’s what we are actually here to do. We want them to go home safely, just like we want to go home safely after our shift.”
This shift served an ace.
Twitter @TBaranek
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