KAIROS HOLDS ASSEMBLY TO HONOR RETIRING POLICE CHIEF
John Carli showered with praise and thank yous during special ceremony
A major focus of Kairos Public Schools’ curriculum is the concept of community and the people who comprise it.
One prominent figure in the Vacaville community for the last three decades has been Police Chief John Carli, who will be retiring from the department in April after 32 years of service, including the last seven as chief. To honor Carli’s service and longtime support of Kairos, students and staff held a surprise assembly for the chief Tuesday.
Jared Austin, executive director of Kairos, said he told Carli to come to the campus so students could say “Thank you.” What he didn’t tell him was that Carli would be greeted with cheers by most of the students, be presented with gifts and receive a video message from his granddaughter, a first-grader at Kairos.
“Chief Carli has been a huge supporter of Kairos ever since we opened,” Austin said.
Over the years, Austin said that Carli assisted with the initial planning at Kairos and has provided tours of the Police Department to students, helped put together an annual Community Heroes Day to honor first responders and partnered with the Make A Wish Foundation to provide a simulated on-campus police chase with Batman and Bane.
“When we heard that he was retiring, we just wanted to honor him as one of our community heroes,” he said. “We wanted to show the stu
dents an example of someone who has served his entire career in our community and gives back to it.”
Austin reached out to Carli’s wife Joanne, who serves on Kairos’ Board of Directors, and they were able to coordinate the event.
On Tuesday, students were led out of their classrooms and either sat or stood along the buildings. Some held up signs congratulating Carli on his retirement, and even “Zoomies” — students who opted to learn remotely for the remainder of the year — were able to log in and view the event.
Carli arrived and was clearly awestruck by the turnout.
“We want to honor Chief Carli for 32 years of service to our community,” Austin told the crowd. “As you guys know, this school is focused on serving our community. Our scholars volunteer all throughout the community, and this is one of our community heroes who has worked his entire career to serve our community.”
One of the many surprises for Carli was a video message by his granddaughter Emme Hitch, a Kairos student. She talked about how proud she was of her grandfather but was looking forward to his retirement so they could spend more time together.
Carli took a few minutes to thank the Kairos community for their efforts.
“I can’t even express how much gratitude I have for you doing this for me today,” he said. “It is so special to see of all you young boys and girls coming together to learn.”
Carli also imparted some words of wisdom to the students. He talked about how when he was in school, he received a visit from Herm Rowland, chairman of the Jelly Belly Candy Company. He said Rowland asked questions about his educational plans, and the main thing he took away from this conversation was to “Always be prepared for an opportunity that doesn’t come (rather) than unprepared for the one that’s in front of you.”
“That has served me well in my education and life: to always be a lifelong learner seeking to understand and to be a good citizen and take care of each other,” he said.
He also said of his years with the Police Department, “I’ve loved every minute of it, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Carli was then presented with thank you cards from different classes, which quickly added up. As one youngster could be heard exclaiming, “Look how many cards he has! He has to have about 20 of them!”
Carli told The Reporter that he felt the assembly was “heartfelt” and “absolutely touching.”
“Sometimes you forget why you do what you do, but the heart of a child reminds you what service is all about,” he said.
Austin said he hopes Carli will feel honored and appreciated after hearing the words of gratitude expressed by the students.
“He’ll be able to retire knowing that the next generation is supportive of our community heroes and that they honor service,” he said. “I’m hoping that he’s gonna see that the future is bright.”
Carli’s last day with the department will be April 16, and he said his time until then will largely be spent using up his accumulated vacation hours. In the meantime, Capt. Ian Schmutzler is serving as the acting chief until an interim head is chosen.