“I believe every kid is a good kid.”
This was quoted by our School Resource Officer (SRO) at Sentinel, Mark Monaco, when asked what traits he would say are the most important to see in kids at our high school.

For many students, hearing this from an authority can be heartfelt. Moinco says this is something that he wants students to hear and he knows that many need it. He acknowledges that a lot of kids don’t have the right amount of validation they need when they’re in their own homes.
This is an important aspect of Monaco’s job, and something he really strives to see in his work. He wants our students to know that he will be there for them no matter what. He hopes students can find ways to use their traits they already have the most effectively for their future and wants to help them search for ways for them to thrive once they leave Sentinel.
A junior at our school says that ever since freshman year they have been greeted by Monaco everyday. When they miss school, Monaco will even go as far to check up on them and ask why they had missed school. Our Spartan claims that it is a wonderful way to start their morning, and Monaco never fails to put a smile on their face. Monaco says that this “niceness” isn’t something some people see all the time at home, so he hopes he can give it to them as they are in the walls of our school.
Before Monaco came to our school and worked with us Spartans, he still worked for the Missoula Police Department. He was in two different fields in his time, he started off on a team doing patrol which is your average police officer who goes to all calls: violence, traffic enforcement, and safety. He then moved on to the motors department where he rode around on the motorcycle and motors specifically, which proves to be everyone’s favorite guy come lunch time when speeding to get your food in time!
When Monaco isn’t working he has a love for the Montana outdoors. Like many, he spends a fair amount of time hunting. Though he wishes he had a cabin on the lake, he will settle to enjoy boating on Flathead. He was also lucky enough to go to Glacier and Yellowstone this summer, which he says he really loves doing. Any chance to get outside and he’ll take it.
He claims that he loves being busy, which is something his job never fails at. Monaco always has things going on, as even in our interview he let me know that he might get a phone call and to expect a possible interruption. He is always working and doing something, which for him, is good.
Something that fills his time in his job more than you would think is the impact of social media on children’s decision making and dangerous choices. When talking to Monaco, he seems rather passionate about the impact it has on kids in high school. For kids, this can be a dangerous way of growing up. The negligence of posting on social media has caused people who are not involved, as well as those making the decisions, to be strongly impacted. He says that if kids knew the consequences of some of these posts, they would know that they should make different choices.
His job is to aid kids in their decision making so that they make less vulnerable choices. When looking at the differences between his job and a regular patrol officer, it’s hard to deny the severe differences between working with kids and adults. Adults usually have a better head on their shoulders, they are able process their information with more retrospect to the experiences they’ve already had. So, when working with kids there needs to be thoughts regarding the fact that decisions are made without a full understanding of the consequences that will later be at hand because of a lack of experience.
These differences make the job significantly harder, not to mention there are unfortunate situations that kids find themselves in that aren’t even their fault. Monaco says things like household and friend choices have quite the large impact on how a kid goes about their life, and though it’s not all their fault, nor are they completely controlled by that situation, it still makes the certain circumstances even harder.
It’s important to say though, as Monaco did to me, that people with that picture perfect life, need help too. No one is excluded from hardship. There will always be those people that put on a pretty face and pretend everything is fine and perfect, when in reality they need as much help as any one else they pass in the hall, and Monaco wants us all to remember that.
Though the job can prove hard, Monaco never seems to stray in his devotion towards his love for the work he does when talking to him. One thing maybe not evident to all that know him are his two daughters, one of which is a teenager and the other close to it. He says that with his job he is able to deal with kids more appropriately because of being a dad, and vice versa. He knows that with the experiences he has with his job he can also establish those and learn and grow with grace within his family.
These aren’t things that are not necessarily dealt with or felt for a regular patrol officer, which makes it evident the strength it takes to be a SRO; the department already faces other officers struggling in the possions and forcing re-recruits all the time.
With Monaco it’s hard to argue the fact that he is a perfect fit for us at Sentinel, and for that we should be thankful. Knowing that we can all have someone in our corner and be able to talk to them is important for a healthy school environment. Growing the relationship with Monaco by simply saying “hi” and sharing a smile makes us very lucky.