Five students at Molina High School are now certified security officers, the first in Dallas ISD to receive this certification. NBC 5’s Candace Sweat has the story.
Five Molina High School students are the first in the Dallas Independent School District to become fully certified security officers licensed by the state's Department of Public Safety.
It's an addition to the school's Law Enforcement Pathway class.
In class, Jonathan Wright reviewed how to scan and survey a potentially dangerous scene properly. At 18, he's already a licensed Level II security guard. Over the weekend, he worked his first paid assignment for a private security company.
"It's very exciting, it's fun, it's very different from any other job that you experience," said Wright.
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He said it was the classes at Molina High that made him ready.
"I was the youngest security guard there by a long shot," he said. "But I know just as much as them, so I feel that this class has well prepared me for that field."
The Law Enforcement Pathway program has been around at Molina High School for roughly seven years. Last year, though, students were given the chance to become certified guards ready for hire. Earl Felton instructs the course.
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"They can work at events, concerts, basketball games, football games," said Felton. "Pretty much anybody that hires a level II security officer who's interested in hiring an 18-year-old who just got their certification, they can go work for them."
As Level-II private security guards, students who pass the test are not licensed to carry firearms and must be at least 18 years of age to qualify.
Felton, who has a law enforcement background, says the ultimate goal is exposure to opportunities.
"I've had some students that have graduated that are actually going to college in the law enforcement academies, or they're getting their criminal justice degrees," he said.
Wright said he eventually wanted to become a nurse. He said it feels good to be looking ahead to graduating high school with options.
"This job is giving me experience in other fields and opened doors if nursing doesn't work out for me," said Wright. "I can pursue a career in law enforcement."
Felton told NBC 5 he has at least one more student preparing to apply for his first paid security job in the coming weeks.
