Third graders' lunch with SAPD officers: the topic is dogs – San Antonio Express-News

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Officer Dee Dee Brown, right, shows a picture of a sleeping dog to children eating lunch as she, Officer Robert Henderson, left, and other SAPD officers spend their lunch break Thursday with students at Dellview Elementary.
Officer Dee Dee Brown, right, shows a picture of a sleeping dog to children eating lunch as she, Officer Robert Henderson, left, and other SAPD officers spend their lunch break Thursday at Dellview Elementary .
Second grader Andrew Almeida receives a fist bump from San Antonio Police Chief William McManus during lunch Thursday at Dellview Elementary. A handful of SAPD officers took advantage of North East Independent School District’s Meals for Shields program to eat with students.
First grader Charlotte McCullough, center, listens closely as San Antonio Police Chief William McManus visits her table Thursday during lunch at Dellview Elementary. McManus and a handful of SAPD officers took advantage of North East Independent School District’s Meals for Shields program to eat with students.
First grader Charlotte McCullough, center, listens closely as San Antonio Police Chief William McManus visits her table during lunch Thursday at Dellview Elementary. McManus and a handful of SAPD officers took advantage of North East Independent School District’s Meals for Shields program to eat with students.
San Antonio Police Officer Brigitte Robinson listens in on third grade conversations Thursday in the lunch room at Dellview Elementary School.
SAPD Chief William McManus receives a hug from third grader Leslie Ortega as she leaves the cafeteria at Dellview Elementary on Thursday. McManus and other SAPD officers took advantage of North East Independent School District’s Meals for Shields program to eat lunch with students.
San Antonio Police Officer Juan Hernandez talks to third grader Isaiah Hernandez and his classmates during lunch Thursday at Dellview Elementary.
San Antonio Police Officer Juan Hernandez, center, gives first grader Charlotte McCullough a high-five as her class leaves lunch for recess at Dellview Elementary pn Thursday.
SAN ANTONIO — Days after 58 San Antonio police officers were dispatched to Jefferson High School for a false alarm about gunshots, a dozen officers visited Dellview Elementary School for a very different reason: lunch.
North East Independent School District offers free cafeteria lunches to any uniformed officer as part of its Meals for Shields program. Thursday’s visit included SAPD Chief William McManus — though he was too busy to eat with all the shaking hands, bumping fists and posing for selfies with his hosts.
McGruff the Crime Dog was there, in his trench coat. No uniform, but he does have a badge. He, too, had to skip the pizza because he was doing as much high-fiving and hugging as the chief.
The energy was high — these were second- and third-graders, after all — and most were excited to see the officers, especially Evan Lopez, 7, who said he had “never seen a police officer in real life before.”
So when elementary schoolers and police have lunch together, what is there to talk about?
Dogs.
From pictures of dogs, movies about dogs, names of dogs, types of dogs and the obvious mascot in the room, canines were the hot topic. When McGruff passed by a table, second-grader Sean Talamantes stood up, proclaiming his urge to “boop the dog’s nose.”
Officer Robert Henderson, assigned to a community outreach department called the San Antonio Fear Free Environment (SAFFE), discouraged him from following through, citing how sensitive dogs’ noses can be.
It didn’t end there. Evan, sitting next to Sean, expressed a desire to “squeak the dog’s nose like a toy.”
“I’ve never been to a program where we interact with kids like this,” Henderson said later. “Usually when we come to schools it’s because of subjects like drugs and safety, so this is different.”
On ExpressNews.com: Law enforcement mentors working with students in troubled neighborhoods
Over at another table, Officer Juan Hernandez, another SAFFE officer, was explaining why SAPD has a K-9 unit. A student he was sitting with agreed, citing their strong sense of smell. Then, the student sitting across from Hernandez shifted the topic to his favorite dog: the Chihuahua.
“Have you seen the movie, ‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua?’” the student asked. Officer Hernandez had not, but promised he would check it out.
On ExpressNews.com: Short on cops, NEISD will pay training tuition for new ones
“It’s important to have that connection in a generation like this,” Hernandez said when asked about ongoing security concerns in schools. “This is where the relationship starts.”
Since 2018, almost 200 officers have taken advantage of Meals for Shields, though there was a lull during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Sharon Glosser, the NEISD executive director of nutrition.
“Some kids only had negative interactions with law enforcement, depending on what’s going on in their lives,” Glosser said. “This helps bring positive interactions at an early age.”
On ExpressNews.com: S.A. school zones where you’re most likely to get a speeding ticket
When another second-grade class entered the cafeteria, seeing the officers socializing, they stopped in their tracks.
One boy put his hands on his head in disbelief. “This is an awesome day! This is so awesome!” he said on his way to the food line, where students and officers had a choice of corn, Caesar salad, orange slices, bananas and strawberries and cream. By far the most popular item for both kids and officers was the pizza.
“These guys will go home, and they will talk about the experience with their families, with their friends. It’s all very positive,” McManus said. “The cool part was they were standing in line waiting for the hugs and saying, ‘We really appreciate your service.’”
Some students made arrangements to see him again.
“I got invited to two birthday parties,” McManus said, laughing. “I got asked how old I was and when I said, ‘How old do you think I am?’ they said, ‘94?’”
Principal Kelli Nungesser, in her ninth year at Dellview, said it was the school’s first visit from the SAPD for the Meals for Shields event.
“It’s great for our kids to see community members come in, having them here for a positive reason,” she said. “The kids had 30,000 questions for the officers and were able to ask them all.”
A heavy news media presence added to a certain self-awareness. Evan asked an officer if he was going to be famous, and when he heard a “Maybe,” replied, “I knew it. I’m gonna be famous!”
The slogan on the cafeteria workers’ T-shirts rang true — it was a good day to be a Dellview Dolphin.
[email protected]
Elizabeth Sander joined the Express-News team as a Hearst Fellow in August 2022, covering education and local news. Previously, she was a student at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York City and has written for Observer Media, Horse Illustrated and her college newspaper, The Tufts Daily. Elizabeth is originally from Fairfield, CT.

source