Town of Laurel, Laurel School District team up to offer summer youth empowerment program

Laurel Police Department Cpl. Lashawn Handy, the Laurel School District’s School Resource Officer (SRO), is thankful to the town and the district for their support for his efforts to help Laurel youth. Over the summer, Handy worked with 15 male students through the summer youth empowerment program.

“They dedicated themselves to getting better instead of hanging out with their friends,” said Handy. “I don’t have a summer vacation and neither did those kids.”

Handy said the idea of the program was to give local youth an option to get out of the apartment complex. The group met every Monday through Thursday throughout the summer.

The Fulton Bank branch manager and employees talk to members of the Laurel summer youth empowerment program.

In the first hour, Handy worked with the students on athletics. He pulled their grade point averages and got their transcripts and helped them with areas they struggled with during the school year.

Handy excelled in the classroom during his time at Sussex Central High School. He was a three sport athlete for the Golden Knights, playing with the varsity football team starting with his freshman year. Handy’s football coach, John Wells, set the bar higher than what DIAA required.

In the second hour, the group learned life skills such as money management. The students were paid $175 per week and were set up with a bank account. They also learned time management and were required to be on time.

“I wasn’t there for them as a police officer, I was there for them more as a working partner or a boss,” Handy said.

The rest of the time, in the afternoon, the group participated in physical activities such as basketball. The students learned real life lessons about adversity, losing the right way, and bouncing back. They teamed up with Handy to play against Leaders in Transition, a group of people who were in jail. This group also spoke to the students about their experiences.

Handy is thankful for Superintendent Dr. Shawn Larrimore’s blessing for and support of the program and for Police Chief Rob Kracyla putting him in a position to be successful. “They entrusted me to bring this group in with their kids,” said Handy.

Handy became the Laurel School District’s SRO two and a half years ago.

Amy Handy, a Laurel teacher and founder of Operation West Laurel (OWL), worked to get a grant for the program. M and T Bank and Fulton Bank helped the students with their bank accounts and finances. Handy credits Amy Handy for serving as a role model for him, encouraging him to think outside of the box.

Laurel students live in a low income area with high gun violence. Handy said some students fit the image of criminal, but the program showed them the importance of shaking that image. Two of those students had braids covering their faces, but they showed up to school this year with their faces uncovered and not smelling like weed.

Local restaurants Pizza King and Number One Chinese donated lunches for the program. Laurel staff, teachers, and principals also provided lunches for the students.

“Most of them believed the teachers didn’t care about them because they didn’t see things like this. They just saw them enforce the rules,” Handy said.

Over the summer, the school district moved the first grade classrooms from Laurel Elementary School to North Laurel Early Learning Academy. The youth empowerment program helped make the move in two weeks.

The program ran from the first week after school until Aug. 4, when the Laurel Youth Academy took place and football started. The students also helped with the town clean up, walking down 7th Street in west Laurel to help clean up the town.

Handy said the goal is to make the program bigger next year. He would like to see other school districts provide a similar program to bring kids out of low income areas, allow them to make money, and show them they can make money the right way.