Mental Health Awareness
* Final in a 3-part series
Schools across North Carolina have worked hard to reassess their safety and security measures in the wake of school violence. Historically, school safety initiatives have addressed bullying, vandalism, student fights and weather-related emergencies.
However, as the number of school shootings rises, school officials are redefining school safety to include a focus on security.
As we come to the end of May, we recognize another important component in the Mental Health Core and Crisis Team: School Resource Officers.
SROs provide safe learning environments in many ways.
In addition to being a resource to the staff, they foster positive relationships with the students, develop strategies to resolve problems that affect students and protect them so they can reach their fullest potential. The officers serve schools in three specific roles: they are trained law enforcement officers, they are law-related counselors and they sometimes serve as law-related educators for the students they serve.
Graham County Schools house a school resource officer on each campus.
* Josh Reap is the officer on the elementary campus. He is married to Becca Lee Reap.
Originally from York, S.C., Reap has been in law enforcement since 2018. He started his career in Georgia and moved to Robbinsville in July of 2019. His certifications include school resource officer, narcotics, standardized field sobriety testings, Intox certification and he is certified in the state of North Carolina as a general instructor and hostage and crisis negotiator. After working for county departments in Graham and Swain, he was offered the position of SRO at Robbinsville Elementary.
Reap loves interacting with the students, establishing relationships and working with the youth of Graham County.
* Jeff Knight is the officer on the middle school and high school campus. Knight has served in law enforcement for over 23 years. He served 19 of those years as the SRO at the elementary school. He also spent time with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office before returning to the SRO position.
* Covering the Mental Health Core and Crisis Team for Graham County Schools would not be complete without including its behavorial specialist, Jordan Welch – who accepted the position of school-based specialist at Robbinsville Elementary in 2023.
Welch has a Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders and a minor in Psychology from Western Carolina University. She is currently pursuing her master’s in social work. Welch intervenes with students who struggle by teaching strategies to manage emotions and behaviors so that they can thrive in the classroom.
The administration at Graham County Schools has created an amazing support staff. Expanding and strengthening the workforce in our schools – and supporting our students and staff with qualified and caring professionals – builds a strong foundation to empower our community and save lives.