Accessible security

MATTAWA — JJ Calzadillas said school security is a team effort, one that takes diligence, some practice and building relationships with students and the community.

Calzadillas is the safety and security coordinator for the Wahluke School District. He gave credit to the student body for being an asset in keeping the schools safe.

“We have kids that are willing to come up and say, ‘Hey, so-and-so’s doing this, and can you look into it?’ And I would say nine times out of 10 they’re correct. And that’s big, but that goes back to building relationships with these kids too. We always have an open door policy; kids can always come talk to us,” Calzadillas said.

Calzadillas started as the safety and security coordinator in March 2021, but he’s been with the school district for five years total, he said.

One of the keys to providing security at school is working together, both with school officials and law enforcement, he said. Calzadillas shares an office with the district’s school resource officer, Alex Zesati of the Mattawa Police Department.

“It’s kind of like a Batman and Robin-type deal, if you will,” he said. “The open line of communication between him and I is huge.”

The two talk about what they’re hearing about what’s happening around school every day, Calzadillas said.

“The first thing we do is, ‘Hey, what’s going on? What do we need to be concerned about?’ We game plan, every single day. We go through scenarios, ‘If this happens, what do we do?’ So there are plenty of things that we talk about,” Calzadillas said.

Students and teachers need to know what to do if an emergency does occur, whether it’s a fire or another type of emergency. Relevant drills are conducted each month in the district’s six schools.

“We practice our core four drills monthly. So they’re secure and teach, lockdowns, shelter in place and evacuations. Those are our core four that we practice all the time.”

Security staff, teachers and administrators all have to know what’s going on around school - and not only at school, but around town - and talk with each other.

“If there are things like drug issues or gang violence, we have to keep an eye on that. The good thing about me working alongside the SRO is that sometimes we can connect the dots. If something is happening out the community, maybe it’s happening inside the school,” Calzadillas said.

Zesati is an important part of the school district’s safety plan, Calzadillas said. Working together, the two are able to exchange information to give administrators such as principals advanced notice of possible issues. That prevention can go a long way toward keeping students safe, he said.

Social media has added a new dimension, he said. While 99 out of 100 posts are harmless, some are not. Calzadillas said children in crisis often tell a friend about issues they’re facing, so it’s important to keep the lines of communication open.

Calzadillas came to Mattawa after a career with the Washington Department of Corrections - which was actually his second career. His first career was as a small business owner, owning a barbershop with his friend Joe Wirtzberger.

“We’ve been friends since we were about five years old. Maybe even longer,” he said. “And he and I, we’ve had a lot of jobs together since high school. We owned (the) barbershop together for 15 years.”

Calzadillas said he liked cutting hair and still does on the side. But insurance for a small business owner with a family was getting very expensive, and Calzadillas went looking for other job opportunities. One of the customers at his shop suggested he apply to the DOC. Calzadillas went to work at the state penitentiary in Walla Walla and then transferred to a DOC work release center in Tri-Cities.

“Work release is basically helping people reintegrate into society,” he said. “Part of my duties was helping them find a job on the outside. I helped them find a job, trying to keep them from going back to prison.”

Calzadillas said the DOC gig was difficult with what he estimated as a 70% recidivism rate.

However; there were some success stories.

“I have seen some of the positive work that has come out of there. It’s people that want to help themselves that become successful,” he said.

But even with the successes, it was a difficult position.

While Calzadillas was with the DOC, Wirtzberger had gone in a different direction.

“One day he calls me up and says, ‘Hey, we’re putting in to become teachers in Mattawa. Why don’t you come over and teach?’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t have a teaching degree.’ And he said, ‘that’s the beauty of Mattawa. They’ll give you a teaching job as long as you show you’re attending class.’”

Calzadillas and his wife Jolene both were hired at Mattawa; current superintendent Andy Harlow was the principal at Wahluke Junior High at the time.

“(Harlow) definitely likes to think outside the box,” Calzadillas said.

Harlow wanted to use Calzadillas’s background to help students he thought would benefit from learning skills like cutting hair and how to run a business.

“We created the Frontline Warriors program,” he said. “We opened up a barbershop, a sandwich shop, and an espresso shop, basically. We give (students) life skills. That’s kind of the nugget, but the real thing was being able to teach them how to become a productive member of society and give them skills they can take on into life.”

Some of his former students have moved on to barber and cosmetology classes, he said, and Wirtzburger is now in charge of the Frontline program that Calzadillas helped establish.

“It’s all because we planted that seed in them, that, ‘Hey, I can do something. I can be successful.’ And it’s awesome - I love it to see them picking up a craft that I wanted to share with these kids, and they’re running with it,” Calzadillas said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.