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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Daily News has done a series of features on some of the new and returning School Resource Officers (SRO) to let people get to know them as the new school year kicks off. Our final story features Hogansville Elementary SRO Danielle Thompson.

Hogansville Elementary School SRO Danielle Thompson has been in law enforcement for 12 years. Thompson worked for the Heard County Sheriff’s Office before being hired by the Hogansville Police Department. Before taking the SRO position she worked patrol for HPD.

Thompson has been at Hogansville Elementary for two years and is starting her third year as SRO for the school.

She said her passion for children is what drove her toward the job.

“I’ve always enjoyed being around kids. My passion for helping children grew and grew as worked cases involving crimes against children. As a criminal investigator for Heard County Sheriff’s Office, I was glad to have the opportunity to help children through their circumstances there. However, I wanted to do more.”

“In 2022, our twin baby boys were starting pre-K at Hogansville Elementary, and the opportunity arose for me to jump into the SRO position for the school, and I took it,” Thompson said. “I’ve been so glad to be here with my babies and to get to connect with and help so many other children in a different way than before. Not only do I get to protect all these sweet babies, but I get to educate them, be a mentor to them, have some fun with them and become best friends with them. I now have 500 babies who I love with all my heart.”

Thompson said she connects with the students at Hogansville Elementary in a variety of ways from reading to and tutoring them to just sitting down and having lunch with them.

“I love to get in the classrooms and read books and speak on safety-related topics. I love to eat lunch with the students. I help tutor after school in our Pals program. I teach L.E.A.D. which is called Law Enforcement Against Drugs. It’s kind of like D.A.R.E, the drug and violence prevention program,” Thompson said.

Thompson also created an extracurricular activity called Run Club as a way to bond with students and is currently working on a mentorship program of her own called Pal Patrol. She said she created Pal Patrol as an attempt at early intervention and violence prevention for students who display at-risk behaviors.

“I enjoy the informal counseling side of my job a lot. Over the years, I found that a lot of times when children are misbehaving, there’s a root cause. When I can sit down and build a rapport with a child and learn what’s going on, I feel like I can then help lead them in the direction they need to go, and can be there with them as they get through it,” Thompson said.

Like all of the SROs in this series, Thompson said her primary role is to protect the students.

“My role here is to keep a safe learning environment as a public safety educator, a law enforcement officer and a mentor. I’m not here to discipline anyone or take anyone to jail. I’m simply here to build relationships while keeping us safe. I love having this role as I’m not assigned to one particular place, and I’m able to float around and serve in any way I can, from helping out in a classroom to patrolling the campus,” Thompson said.

“I love the small community here in Hogansville. I’ve gotten to know and adore so many families here, I truly hope that I have as big of an impact on these sweet babies as they’ve had on me. Being greedy with hugs and smiles every day fills my heart. I feel like this job was perfect for me,” Thompson said.