“Practical, relevant and relatable experiences are sprinkled into their deliveries throughout in a way that enhanced learning.”
This April in Everett, WA, we finished our second Basic FTO class of the year, graduating 31 officers accepting the responsibility to begin training our next generation of law enforcement professionals. Agencies represented included Lynnwood, Port Orchard, Mukilteo, Swinomish, Tumwater, Everett, Renton, Lake Forest Park, Marysville, Duvall, Stillaguamish, Bothell, Moses Lake, and Bothell Police Departments. Included in our numbers were members of the Nisqually and Tulalip Tribal Police Departments.
Again, I was surprised to hear how many attendees commented on how the SJM, as we presented the material, was not the same as they recalled going through the program as a trainee…Even though they believed their agencies utilize the SJM as their training program. Several commented they had not seen, or understood the Standardized Evaluation Guidelines, and how to properly apply the numerical rating.
We are not sure how that happens, but we are confident these attendees will return to their agencies with the knowledge of how to observe the performance of their students, match that performance to the SEGs and rate them accordingly, with the focus of Training Towards Success.
We received some great feedback from the students. Some of the comments included:
- “Initially when arrived to the class I had no motivation and struggled staying engaged, mostly because I was told I was coming to this class. As I got to experience more of the class and instructors, my motivation and ability to be engaged grew. Sgt Harris shows through interest and cares about what he is teaching. Especially enjoyed his humor and stories, not only entertaining, but tied into topics presented.”
- “Absolutely enjoyed the class. The content was fantastic, but the presentation and delivery by the instructors takes the class to whole new level. Practical, relevant and relatable experiences are sprinkled into their deliveries throughout in a way that enhanced learning. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in leadership and management.”
- “Instructors were a ball of knowledge. They educate you and have fun police related stories to hammer home the point of the instruction.”
- “The instructors were highly motivated. Their passion for the program and the police profession came through. I have been in an instructor position in an unrelated field, and I wished I had taken this class years ago.”
- “This class helped me gain valuable insight on my duty as an FTO. Prior to this class I had a false perception on the inner workings of FTOing and a lot of my questions were answered.”
- “I’m very grateful I was able to attend this training. It has been such a great training – that I think would better any officer.”
- “I appreciated the Nobility in Policing Class. I’ve been finding courses like this very helpful as I continue to learn how to live life in this career.”
- “It never ceased to amaze me how many stories both instructors had for every LE scenario.”
- “Instructors did an awesome job instructing the course. They were able to keep students engaged and interested with real life stories about their experiences as an FTO. They seemed very genuinely invested in making sure the students walked away from class with a good understanding of how to start training new officers.”
- “Phenomenal class! I will recommend to my agency that future FTOs attend this course.”
- “This class was very informative. The personal stories provided by the instructors gave needed context to the material.”
