CATS Academy teaches students about respect
A group of about a dozen soon-to-be middle school students donning blue t-shirts took turns riding horses around the field behind Washington Middle School on Wednesday.
Along with riding horses, students were given small activities to do. For instance, some would ride up to a sign in the field and lean over some to touch the Y on it. Capt. Kevin Holt with El Dorado Police Department said this is to take away the student’s fear with a simple task so they get more comfortable on the horse.
Guiding these students are members of the Maverick Cowboy Church such as Chris May who are donating their time and horses to spend their week with about 70 students with the goal of teaching elements of a bigger picture.
“I guarantee you that kid has never been on a horse,” Holt said. “But he’s just had a little jog with a horse who now he has better respect for. He understands that if he treats the horse right, the horse will respect him. These guys (members of the church) are coming out here on their own time, bringing their own horses and volunteering to teach these kids about respect.”
This is one of the activities students take part in at the CATS Academy, which is put on by the El Dorado Police Department with the aid of El Dorado schools and other local sponsors. The goal of the academy is to teach incoming middle schoolers to be committed, ambitious and trustworthy students (CATS).
The program was originally developed in Texarkana with the PRIDE Academy, but was adapted last year for El Dorado. It focuses on helping at-risk students to develop positive role models with the police officers and community members volunteers while also talking about community service, gun safety, yoga and valuing others.
Officer Gerid Ardwin, who worked with the camp last year and helped bring the program to El Dorado, works as a school resource officer in El Dorado, which involves frequently visiting Washington Middle School where the participating students will be when the school year starts.
As part of this program, he, along with the other volunteer officers, will continue to meet with the students over the course of the next school year and later in their educational career.
“Once this week is over, CATS is not done,” Ardwin said. “There’s a second phase to CATS wherein the officers who are assigned to
each team will come back to the school during the year and regularly check up with these kids, ask them about how their grades are doing, ask them about their behavior, are they struggling with something.”
As part of the community service aspect of the camp, students have been involved in picking up trash around local parks and helping at a can food drive at Walmart. Today, they’re doing a car wash to benefit the Agape House, a local foster home.
Officers help teach classes on gun safety, which focuses on telling students not to interact with a gun and to find an adult if they discover one unattended. Additionally, officers teach classes about their profession and their role in society.
“A lot of these kids all they see of us is what’s on the news, or what the media shares or what they hear from their friends or their parents,” Ardwin said. “Part of that is our responsibility is correct that. So these cop classes are our chance to explain what does a patrol officer do, are they my friend, should I be scared of them, what are their tools, what are their intention?”
The yoga and valuing others classes put an emphasis on remaining calm, treating others with compassion regardless of their background and taking time for self care.
When it comes to working with the horses, each day’s activities build on the previous day, along with the camp’s theme. Students were first taught to feel more comfortable around the animals before spending time on them, riding them around the field and eventually teaching others about basic etiquette with them.
“They’ll take the reigns and come up and say ‘hello, this is my friend Sally’ or ‘this is my friend Paul’ or whatever the case may be,” Holt said. “And then they’ll hand you the reigns. They’re now trusting you with their friend.”
An important part of this program for the volunteers, however, is to give these students positive role models within the community.
“I’m looking into the future, but when I’m in a gas station or in Walmart and one of these kids goes ‘Hey, Mr. Chris’ that’s when I’m going to get the most out of it,” May said. “When they see those positive role models in their life and can relate to them later in life or even just next week, that’s when I’m going to know that I made a difference.”
Michael Shine may be reached at 870-8626611 or mshine@eldoradonews.com. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook @MichaelAZShine for updates on Union County school news.