Eklund is an assistant professor with the School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology and the co-director of the Madison Education Partnership.

According to Education Dive, demand for school resource officers in on the rise — and so is the demand that SROs participate in social-emotional learning (SEL) training.

Eklund tells Education Dive that it’s vital to see SROs as an employee of a school district, and it’s important that students see them as a resource.

Creating a connection between the students and the SRO is, according to Education Dive and the experts interviewed, where SEL training plays a big role. The goal is to provide positive reinforcement and engage in constructive intervention processes with students, which requires a different approach than typical police work.

Eklund agrees with the push for SEL training, telling Education Dive that she would see drawbacks if SROs weren’t properly trained.

Read the full Education Dive article here.