Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Florida Association of School Resource Officers recognized Deputy Cullen Coraine of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office as the 2019 School Resource Officer of the Year. Deputy Coraine received the award at the 40th annual FASRO Conference in Doral. More than 600 law enforcement officers from around the state celebrated Deputy Corraine’s positive influence on the students at Liza Jackson Preparatory School.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “I want to congratulate Deputy Coraine on receiving this award for his outstanding work as School Resource Officer in Okaloosa County. His dedication and commitment to protecting children in his community sets a shining example of the great work school resource officers and all law enforcement do every day in Florida.”
Deputy Coraine serves at the Liza Jackson Preparatory School, developing programs that promote good character. One of the programs Deputy Coraine created is the Junior Deputy Program, focused on teaching and encouraging positive character traits. Students can become a Junior Deputy by achieving good grades, demonstrating good behavior and helping others. Junior Deputies are classroom leaders during drills, observe and report during field trips and assist in monitoring hallways. The core value emphasized is: Integrity means doing what is right even when no one is looking.
Deputy Coraine is also instrumental in installing security protocols to effectively deal with different types of threats and situations. In addition to Deputy Coraine’s service at the school, he does extensive work in the community, such as assisting at local animal shelters, delivering food and providing services to homeless individuals.
The Attorney General also recognized seven law enforcement officers from around the state who earned the designation as school resource officer practitioners after completing a rigorous training program:
- Sergeant Michael Carver, Polk County Sheriff’s Office;
- Deputy Joseph M. Clanton, Polk County Sheriff’s Office;
- Deputy Rafael Fuentes, St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office;
- Deputy Debbie Galutz, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office;
- Deputy Daniel Gibson, Hardee County Sheriff’s Office;
- Deputy John Marlon, Polk County Sheriff’s Office; and
- Officer John Rodgers, Melbourne Police Department.
In 1985, the Attorney General’s Office developed the first 40-hour basic training course adopted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to train school resource officers with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to implement crime prevention programming in a school setting. Together, the Attorney General’s Office, FASRO, FDLE and the Florida Department of Education provide several trainings throughout the year to develop effective prevention programs and strategies for students and campuses. Each year, applications for the School Resource Officer of the Year are submitted to the Attorney General’s Office for review.
