Supt Spring & PV 5th grader talk about success of LEADership Project at press conference
Superintendent Larry Spring and Pleasant Valley 5th Grader
Rebecca Rupnarine joined U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian, other school leaders and law enforcement
officers from federal, state and local agencies, Monday morning, for a press
conference at Troy Middle School announcing the success of the the LEADership
Project, which began in Albany in 2011 and today reaches approximately 1,800
5th graders in Albany, Schenectady, Troy and Lansingburgh.
The LEADership Project brings law enforcement officers to
elementary schools to form relationships with students, help them make better
decisions when faced with difficult choices, educate them about the criminal
justice system and provide resources that educate students with positive messages
and productive ways to avoid peer pressure.
The superintendent and a fifth grader from each of the four districts
spoke about the impact of the program. Ray Feurstein, Chief of the Schenectady County
Auxiliary Police, Jeremy Bergosian, whose class of Pleasant Valley 5th
graders participated in the project, and school board president Cathy Lewis were on hand, along with Spring and Rupnarine, to represent Schenectady.
Rupnarine thanked Chief Feurstein. “We learned a lot about the criminal justice
system, thanks to Chief Ray,” she said. “One
thing we learned was that the criminal justice system doesn’t just punish
criminals.” Rupnarine spoke about how
the system helps criminals learn from their mistakes and make better decisions moving forward.
Spring said the program teaches students to form
relationships with law enforcement officers and helps them understand in a real
way. He said one thing that he has heard
from the students is that the program is ‘real.’ Spring said students are engaged and are
paying attention. “Thank you for putting together such a quality
program,” he said. “We are so
appreciative.”