At UC High, School Police Officer Phil Franchina works daily to keep students safe by working to prevent and solve problems on campus in order to create the best environment possible for all Centurions.
Franchina has more responsibilities than students may think. “Even though I am in the office here, I can go to any school if they need me. I am responsible for schools in the northern [San Diego] area,” said Franchina. As a big part of Franchina’s job is to keep students at school safe, he has become a crucial part of the UC High community.
Aside from ensuring student safety at school, Franchina enjoys making genuine connections with students. “I enjoy walking around campus socializing with students, because I am not here to get students in trouble; I am worried about keeping them safe,” said Franchina.
He helps students navigate through altercations and in situations of conflict. “When there is a fight, we separate the students, calm down the situation and then get statements, and it depends [on the situation] what goes on from there,” said Franchina.
His typical day does not always consist of simply sitting in his office. “When I’m not on the UC High campus, I’m usually at my other campuses on duty,” said Franchina.
Safety at UC High is not a one-man job and Franchina does not always work by himself. He works with some of our biggest support systems at UC High. “We work together when there is an unsafe situation to get students what they need when they need it,” said Head Counselor Kelsey Bradshaw.
Franchina did not just become a police officer, he had to go through certain training to be where he is at now. “Before I became a school police officer, I was working in a program with juvenile kids for training,” said Franchina.
Franchina believes that students affect the safety on campus. “Nowadays, the biggest safety issue is kids bringing weapons and intoxicating substances to school. The biggest concern is knives, guns, pepper spray, wax pens, and vapes,” said Franchina.
Since Franchina is highly involved with safety concerns, he is consulted in regards to school policies. “When there is any major concern regarding our safety policies, we bring it to Officer Franchina’s attention as he is a resource; we appreciate his experience, and expertise and love that he has a restorative presence,” said Principal Mike Paredes.
According to an article about the balance between discipline and positive reinforcement, having a good relationship with students helps reduce as many issues as possible and punishment doesn’t have to be the first result, depending on the situation. “A focus on discipline without positive reinforcement and recognition will keep an organization at a ‘Compliant’ level… rather than owning safety to keep themselves and others injury-free” (propulo.com).
Student safety is important to teachers also. “Feeling safe is crucial to learning. It is extremely difficult to learn and process new information when one feels anxious or fearful,” explained Spanish Teacher Georgia Fouseki. “The brain is in a fight or flight mode,” she added.
“Personally for me, I know I can not do well in class without feeling safe,” said Freshman William Washington. “I feel a bit safer knowing we have an officer on campus, especially with everything that’s been going on,” said Freshman Tyson Thompson.