School Resource Officers
Every elementary, middle and high school within the Catawba County Schools system has a Deputy Sheriff assigned as a School Resource Officer with the exception of Maiden High, Maiden Middle and Maiden Elementary which are served by Maiden Police Department. The SRO's serve as mentors & counselors in addition to their law enforcement role. By having a full time deputy assigned to each school they are there on a consistent basis which helps build rapport and relationships with the students and staff. There are also three deputies assigned as School Resource Officers at Catawba Valley Community College, which includes Challenger High School.
The School Resource Officer program has been very successful. The students see the deputies as someone who they can befriend and go to for guidance. A positive relationship with a school resource officer has shown to have a positive affect on a child’s perception of safety at school. The one-on-one relationship between students and officers allows them to solve problems before those problems grow out of control.
In a research study conducted by Captain Fish in 2011, school administrators and resource officers both felt that deputies served as mentors or counselors foremost. Students felt that the deputies were more approachable, because they were in the halls and lunchroom with them. Students associated guidance counselors as part of the school administration, and they are not as likely to go to the office.
If you would like more information or programs offered by the School Resource Officers, contact:
- Lt Jody Grindstaff 828-465-9577 / jgrindstaff@catawbacountync.gov
- Lt. Eric Page 828-465-8278 / epage@catawbacountync.gov
- Sgt. Eric Brown 828-465-9578 / ebrown@catawbacountync.gov
The School Resource Officers are assigned as follows:
 Bandys High School SRO Deputy Craig Sigmon craigsigmon@catawbacountync.gov 828-241-1471 |  Bunker Hill High School SRO Deputy Taylor Stout tstout@catawbacountync.gov 828-241-3355 |  Fred T Foard High School SRO Deputy Mark Dentel mdentel@catawbacountync.gov 704-462-1496 |
 Roaming K9 Officer CPL. Jeremy Graham jgraham@catawbacountync.gov 828-465-8278 |  St. Stephens High School SRO Deputy Seth Wallace swallace@catawbacountync.gov 828-256-9841 |  Catawba Rosenwald Education Center Deputy Brandon Lackey blackey@catawbacountync.gov 828-241-2734 |
 H M Arndt middle School SRO Deputy David Fox dlfox@catawbacountync.gov 828-256-9545 |  Jacobs Fork Middle School SRO Deputy Amber Morris amorris@catawbacountync.gov 704-462-1827 |
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Deputy Shawn Goodnight |
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