Officer Scottie Hinton of the Fuquay-Varina Police Department is great. Ask any 5th grader at Lincoln Heights Elementary School. He also teaches the G.R.E.A.T. program which recently graduated the entire 5th grade class at Lincoln Heights Elementary School for the 4th year in a row. G.R.E.A.T. stands for Gang Resistance Education and Training but what Officer Hinton is really trying to teach is good decision making and common sense to pre-teens transitioning from elementary school to middle school.

The goal of the G.R.E.A.T. program is to help young people acquire and practice positive life skills that will remain with them during their developing years. Hinton comes to the school three times a week over the course of six weeks to teach lessons in how to think before acting, dealing with bullies, communicating, respecting others and being good citizens. He encourages students to make a list of people they can trust to ask for help and he demands they be a role model for other students.

According to Fuquay-Varina Police Chief Larry Smith, Hinton is able to connect with kids. “Officer Hinton is very fun and interactive. He allows the kids to direct a lot of where the class goes but he’s eff

ective in getting his message across,” said Smith. Hinton’s primary role on the force is a patrol officer. With more than 750 graduates, the G.R.E.A.T. program has been offered by the Fuquay-Varina Police Department at both Lincoln Heights and Ballentine Elementary Schools over the past four years. Lincoln Heights Principal Milinda Crawford said, “We are thankful to the Fuquay-Varina Police Department for providing the G.R.E.A.T. program. We fought hard to get it at the school because we know resources are limited and the program makes such a difference.” Because of funding issues this year, the program was not offered at Ballentine Elementary School.

It’s clear from the loud cheering and happy faces at the graduation ceremony that the G.R.E.A.T. program and Officer Hinton have made a difference. The program also appears to be making positive changes in the way graduates of the program behave in middle school. According to Officer Hinton, teachers at the middle school tell him they know which students have gone through the G.R.E.A.T. program just by the way they conduct themselves. G.R.E.A.T. graduates tend to be more respectful and communicate better than the general middle school population. That is great news, indeed.