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 Cpl. J.M. Sites Looking Forward to Challenges and Rewards of New Positions
The Board of Education entered into an agreement with the City of Frostburg last December to jointly fund a School Resource Officer/D.A.R.E. instructor to schools both inside and outside of the city limits. After several months of searching for an individual to assume these new duties, the school system is proud to announce that Cpl. J.M. Sites has accepted the position of School Resource Officer at Mountain Ridge High School as well as D.A.R.E. instructor at Beall, Frost, George’s Creek, and Mt. Savage Elementary Schools and Mt. Savage Middle School.
Cpl. Sites attended South Penn Elementary, Bishop Walsh Middle, and Fort Hill High School and graduated from Allegany College of Maryland with an associate’s degree in criminal justice in 2001. He joined the Frostburg City Police Department after graduation and has been an active member of the force prior to accepting the SRO/D.A.R.E. instructor position. Cpl. Sites currently resides in Cumberland with his wife, Amy. He enjoys bowling, camping, and fishing, playing golf, and spectator sports.
Cpl. Sites will attend a two-week D.A.R.E. instructor training in Sykesville in October after which time he will begin offering the educational programming to students. He will spend forty days teaching D.A.R.E. at Mt. Savage Middle School and ten days teaching the program in each of the other assigned elementary schools. He is currently stationed at Mountain Ridge High School providing SRO services to students. Cpl. Sites explained that he had the opportunity to shadow Cpl. Jim Hott, Cumberland City SRO, to gain a better understanding of his role in the school community.
When asked why he wanted to become a resource officer and D.A.R.E. instructor, Cpl. Sites stated “I want to assist administration and staff in supplying students with the most efficient and safe learning environment possible.” He went on to say “I am also looking forward to the challenge of breaking down walls and clearing up misconceptions that young people often have with police officers.”
Cpl. Sites has enjoyed his time at Mountain Ridge so far this school year noting that the students there are extremely respectful and the administration has helped make this transition a very smooth process. He is anxious to begin teaching the D.A.R.E. program to students as he still remembers the impact that the D.A.R.E. officer who taught him as a child had on him.
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