Soles On A Mission: High School SRO's 'Fresh Fridays' Engages Kids

EAST HAVEN, CT —She was a gym teacher before she became a cop, so the sneakers idea was a good fit. And, definitely relatable for high school kids: a pair of kicks that slay, especially rare or collectible ones, are gas. (Very cool).

Every Friday, East Haven Police Department School Resource Officer Nicole Burrell sports a different pair of sneakers while on the job at East Haven High School. She and kids, some new faces and some she knows, talk about the sneaker of the day, or what Burrell calls “Fresh Fridays.” It helps that Burrell owns more than 100 pairs and, as a sneaker aficionado, consistently took notice of the kicks kids were wearing. And made sure to let them know she liked their shoes.

“I would also tell them that when I was a physical education teacher, I tried to wear a different pair every day for the school year. Some kids did not believe me,” she told Patch. Then during the 2023-2024 school year, she wore a “fun pair around Halloween.” A few months after that, she’d wear a different pair “once in a while on Fridays.”

That’s when students began to really take notice and ask about her sneakers and when they’d see new ones.

“At that point, I decided I would wear a pair every Friday,” she said. “Many students that never spoke to me before would ask about my sneakers. So not only did it help me engage with the more quiet students, it also added to conversations with students I already spoke with regularly.”

Engaging with students is an important part of the job, she said. And that engagement, and the potential for her to have a positive impact on teens’ lives, is what drew her to the role.

Now in her fourth year as SRO at East Haven High School, she said she’d “applied for the position because I always wanted to work with children more than just seeing them randomly on patrol.”

“To me, as a former teacher, I now have the best of both worlds of police officer and teacher,” she said. “Being an SRO gives me time to truly connect with students and hopefully make a difference in their life in some way.”

For Burrell, the best part of her job is “getting to know the students and seeing them grow into young adults over the years.” But that’s a double-edged sword.

“The hardest part is also knowing them well. I feel their pain when they're going through something difficult. But I am thankful they come to me for help, guidance, or support in those difficult times,” she shared.

So the sneaker thing helps her make connections with kids.

“It’s important to relate to the students so they see me as more than the officer at school,” she said. “I’ve seen the change in students as they become more comfortable with me, which builds trust.”

Burrell explained that kids at the high school stop to talk to her, at times “report something,” and for her part, she’s helped them get answers to myriad questions and concerns.

“When they don't know where to go, when they're upset, when they just need a few minutes,” and more.

It may be the sneakers in part that’s led to more interaction. Or it could just be that she’s great at her job and meeting kids where they are.

Then again, there’s that time she wore her Jordan 4 Retro Doernbecher 2011 Super Man sneakers: “The one pair that shocked the students.” She’d only worn the collectible kicks a “handful of times.”

Most kids, she said, just vibe with the many Jordans she wears. But her favorites are her Nike Air Max2 CB 1994 Charles Barkley’s — she loves the blue hue.