BOISE, Idaho —
The Boise Police Department (BPD) hosted a four week-long summer program for students called SHIELD Academy.
The program was created by BPD and led by local School Resource officers (BPD) who helped recruit students to attend.
"We had high hopes for the Shield Academy but one thing we didn't expect was how strong of a bond the kids created with each other and with individual officers," said Officer Jessica Knarr.
According to BPD, each day the officers took students on field trips that included, fishing, hiking Table Rock, obstacle courses, and tours of the Old Penitentiary, the Anne Frank Memorial, and Boise State University to name a few.
The classroom portion of the program included guest speakers, goal setting, leadership development, storytelling, team building and life skill exercises. According to BPD, overall, the curriculum focused on the acronyms of SHIELD (Success, Helping, Innovation, Empowerment, Leadership, and Discovery).
"In addition to having a lot of fun, the students involved learned a lot about themselves, each other, and our community," Knarr said.
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