Northborough Police Department’s Juvenile Detective and new School Resource Officer Stephen Sullivan works to build connections with the students and to keep Algonquin safe.
Though Sullivan is the School Resource Officer across all Northborough schools, he spends the majority of his time at Algonquin. He has been part of the Northborough Police Department for seven years now and is excited to be in a school setting.
“I’ve worked the first few years as a midnight to 8 a.m. patrol officer and then I switched to 4 p.m. to midnight… I wanted something different and to change up pace,” Sullivan said. “I like a learning environment, to make connections, build relationships, and to talk to people so I figured that this was a very good position to incorporate all of those aspects into one job and still do the police work that I love.”
As the School Resource Officer, Sullivan has many responsibilities.
“I act as a liaison between the school and police department: whether that’s communication to notify the police department of things that are going on in the school or vice versa,” Sullivan said. “If there is an emergency with students I respond; I investigate juvenile crimes and activities around town or in the school, and if there is something that happens outside of school involving one of the students, I notify the school’s chain of demand.”
Sullivan aims to become more involved with the ARHS community, one way being through his daily walks around the building.
“Every morning after I put my stuff down I go for a walk in the school, sometimes in between lunch, and always after school,” Sullivan said. “I’ve noticed some students are distracted throughout the halls, so I like to say ‘Hi’ to everyone I pass by to either make them smile if they’re having a bad day or just to get them to look up and enjoy the beauties of the school, outdoors and of other people.”
Principal Sean Bevan appreciates Sullivan’s early commitment to the school.
“I have really enjoyed the first month working with Detective Sullivan,” Bevan said. “He is very approachable and eager to interact with students and have them get to know him. He is earnest and authentic when he asks people how they are doing and what their interests are, and he is always looking for a way to be helpful to our students.”
Sullivan’s main concern is cultivating a safe environment for students across the town.
“My main goal is to keep everyone safe,” Sullivan said. “I always say I have two daughters, two children, but I have 2,500 kids, or however many kids there are in students in Northborough public schools. I want to make students feel supported and comfortable, both inside and outside of the school.”
One initial challenge Sullivan faced was navigating the building.
“When I came here I was a little overwhelmed at the size of the school, not so much the number of students but of the actual infrastructure of the school,” Sullivan said. “However, that helped me make connections with any freshmen, transfer students or new teachers that I met because as I helped them get to a classroom, I learned the layout of the school too.”
According to Sullivan, officers from the Northborough Police Department have all been to ARHS in their field training program, but he believes one time is not enough as the building is so big.
“One of my goals is to get our police department more involved inside of the school and to do some training while students are not in session so that way our patrol officers can become more familiar with the environment,” Sullivan said. “Should there be any incidents where police officers have to respond in the school, they will be more familiar with the school and can respond a lot easier and more confidently to the situation.”
Another one of Sullivan’s goals is to engage with the community outside of the school day.
“I really want to get to a lot of sporting events, hopefully one game per team,” Sullivan said. “I love how much school spirit I see throughout school, especially with the sport spirit days. I’m also hoping to attend other extracurricular events like plays and dances.”
In addition to supporting students, Sullivan aims to help faculty as well.
“Making sure the teachers feel supported is a goal of mine too,” Sullivan said. “Teaching is such a hard job and I commend every teacher, administrator, staff, custodian, coaches, all of them; leading the youth is important and we need really good leaders. All the faculty who I have met here so far seem awesome and amazing.”
Bevan believes Sullivan adds great value to the ARHS community and benefits the well-being of students and faculty alike.
“At a baseline, the School Resource Officer helps keep our school safe,” Bevan said. “Both physical safety and emotional safety are important. Somebody like Detective Sullivan who has warm relationships with students and that works with the adults in the building helps contribute not only to the physical safety, but also the emotional safety.”
When Sullivan isn’t at school or working, he spends his free time with his family, watching movies, playing video games, hiking and cooking.
“My name, Sullivan, is Irish but I eat like an Italian,” Sullivan said. “I like to cook with a lot of spices and flavors in my food.”
Sullivan is excited for the rest of the school year and hopes to work towards building the bridge between the police and students.
“I love making connections, building relationships and talking to people and I want people to feel safe around police,” Sullivan said. “Any student is more than welcome to just come and chat with me if they want, even if it is not police related. I look forward to continuing to support the students every day.”
