TOWSON, MD–Baltimore County Public Schools celebrated its 2023 School Resource Officers (SROs) of the Year during a series of separate surprise ceremonies across the county recently. The honorees are Officer Sloane Fuller, Elementary School Resource Officer of the Year; Officer Bryan Dixon, Middle School Resource Officer of the Year; and Officer Kawahn Young, High School Resource Officer of the Year.

“Our SROs of the Year deserve all of our admiration and gratitude not only for the jobs they do each day keeping our students, staff, and schools safe but also – and just as importantly – for the work they do as mentors and role models,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “Congratulations to Officers Fuller, Dixon, and Young for showing our greater BCPS community how SROs can be effective by being superlative peace officers but also by being important resources in the lives of our schools and students.”

“Each of this year’s SROs of the Year truly goes above and beyond duty,” said April Lewis, executive director of the BCPS Department of School Safety. “While it is difficult to select just three among many who exemplify the qualities we value in our SROs, our honorees this year are professionals who are daily making positive differences in the lives of those they serve. Congratulations to them, and our appreciation once again for the vitality of the partnership BCPS enjoys with the Baltimore County Police Department to support school safety.”

Officer Fuller serves 10 northeastern-area elementary schools (Perry Hall, Chapel Hill, Elmwood, Fullerton, Honeygo, Joppa View, McCormick, Red House Run, Rossville, and Shady Spring elementary schools). Staff and administrators at these schools praise Officer Fuller for her equal commitment to each school and the importance she assigns to making sure students get to know her and that she is a friendly face and resource to them. As part of developing relationships, Officer Fuller routinely helps boy and girl scouts earn merit badges, runs the Shop with a Cop program each year, and sends out monthly emails to ask if a teacher would like her to visit classrooms and address a specific topic. She routinely educates parents as well about things occurring in school.

Officer Dixon is assigned to Middle River Middle School and serves not only as an SRO but as a role model to students. He has served as an informal mentor to many students and as a formal mentor through the school’s Black Boy Joy and genius Mentoring Group. He often meets with students to check on grades and events in school and the community, and he frequently stops by clubs to interact with students both during and after school hours. It’s also not unusual to find Officer Dixon at after-school athletic events and other activities. Staff, administrators, and students see and value the relationships Officer Dixon makes and how his work helps to resolve disputes, ease conflicts, and provide a positive “father figure” for many of the students at Middle River Middle.

Officer Kawahn Young, who serves Woodlawn High School, is described as not only a first-class SRO but also as a change agent for many within the school community. Serving with civility, respect for the law, compassion, service, physical activity, and collaborative community engagement, Officer Young is seen by many as humble and being able to lead with a servant’s heart. Because of the respect students have for him, he has defused many incidents over the past two years. Officer Young also acts as a mentor and role model not only to students at Woodlawn but also to students at Southwest Academy. To bring the Woodlawn, Milford Mill, and Randallstown high school communities closer, he worked with a non-profit partner to sponsor an activity that included all three schools and their leadership.

Pictured above from left to right: Officer Sloane Fuller, Officer Bryan Dixon, Officer Kawahn Young