Sayre Public Schools Police Department Chief Andrea Weygand knows the school system from the ground up.
After all, the hometown girl is a proud Sayre Eagle alumni.
Before becoming the Beckham County Sheriff ’s Office’s school resource officer for Sayre Public Schools, Weygand was a familiar face at the Beckham County Courthouse.
In 2015, she became employed at the Beckham County Court Clerk’s Office before transferring to the Beckham County District Attorney’s Office. She spent a year and a half working there full-time but scaled back that job when she decided to go to CLEET or the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training.
As the wife of Elk City Detective Sammy Weygand, Weygand had become well-versed in the benefits and challenges police officers face.
“I liked what I did at the courthouse,” Weygand said, “but I could also see how rewarding Sammy’s job was. It was a way to give back to your community in a positive way, and you can see day in and day out making an impact.”
The couple also has three daughters, two of whom attend Sayre Public Schools.
As school shootings have increasingly become a reality in current American life, Weygand felt an extra sense of protection not only over her children but all the students attending her alma mater.
And with her husband being a certified instructor in safe and quick response to school shootings, she had spent the previous several years absorbing as much information as she could from him.
However, Weygand said that is only a tiny part of why she wanted to be the school resource offi cer.
While school shootings often dominate headlines and broadcasts, the fact is those horrific acts of terrorism against American school children are still rare.
Although Weygand believes in absolute pre- paredness in case that unfortunate reality ever attempts to befall Sayre, she focuses as much or more energy on the day-today lives of the SPS students.
As the mother of teenagers, she knows that trusted adults and early detection of stress for kids have a nearly immeasurable impact on the outcome.
“I have known so many of the kids who attend here since they were babies,” Weygand explained. “I have known many of them since before they were born because I grew up with their mothers and fathers. That makes me feel personally invested in them, just as Sayre kids and I have long friendships with many of their parents and grandparents. As a police officer, knowing the people you are working with and for is helpful. I know a lot of the teachers in the same way. My kids attend school here, so I know the staff through them or just living here forever. I want the same outcome for every student that I do for my own kids — getting a solid education like Sayre Schools has always given and doing so in a safe and healthy environment. I know that you have to approach every situation differently, so I aim to have an open-door policy for anyone who needs me. I keep the door to my office open, and you will often find students just hanging out in their free time. For many of these students, their school resource officer may be their first interaction with law enforcement. So, I want that to be a positive one. In today’s society, many kids are seeing things in the news or on social media not to trust the cops when we are the people who are trained and put here to help them and others. And I can see why so many would think negative things if they had never interacted with the police and were basing their opinions on sensational stories they see in the news or their first experience was something where police were coming into a bad situation to help. My goal is to be a resource for the kids.”
SPS Superintendent Dee Wilhelm also explained the new program.
“This could be confusing for people because this is the creation of a new police department that operates in the City of Sayre. But, it is not replacing the Sayre Police Department or any other law enforcement. Instead, we have created this police department to make our school resource officer an employee of the school system rather than an employee of a local law enforcement agency that operates nearby. Chief Weygand had been with Sayre Schools for a while through the Beckham County Sheriff’s Offi ce and did a great job. I want to be clear that the school was very satisfied with that system. We didn’t change it because there were problems or we were dissatisfied, but this has been something that other public schools have been doing for a while. That is how all the bigger cities like Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Lawton have been doing it for a while. Other Oklahoma schools are doing it this way, too. The board and I talked about it, and it just made sense to us,” Wilhelm stated.
Through this newly created Sayre Public Schools Police Department, Chief Weygand will be required to attend all home athletic events and many school functions.
“The board also knows that my kids are active in many things at Sayre Schools, so I will be at many away games and things for younger kids anyway. I am happy to serve in my capacity as chief at those events, too. During the summer, I will spend that time seeking new training to remain up-to-date on the best ways to protect our children,” Weygand said.
Physical fitness is also crucial to the new chief.
She plans to also use her summer to maintain her fitness regimen by working out with Sayre students during the Summer Pride program. She is certifi ed in combat medic training and active shooter training.
But Weygand still circles back to the nuts and bolts of her job—knowing the students and being another resource for them outside of the exciting and confusing teenage years.
“Every child has different personalities, strengths and weaknesses, and situations at home,” Weygand said. “The teacher and administration already have enough to balance, as do the counselors. So, we are working together for me to be another piece of that puzzle to know our kids and their families. And I welcome any parent, grandparent, or guardian up anytime. Of course, I want to hear from them if they have a concern, but it doesn’t have to be that. I like to get to know the adults who teach or coach my kids, so I understand that my job should be no different. So, I say to come by to the adults in these students’ lives. If we don’t already know each other, I want to know you. We are all working toward the same goal — a great school giving great and safe educations.”
Weygand has made her office inviting. She likes to use things like bottled water and candy as icebreakers for kids.
However, she also wants to keep things like sanitary products for young girls, clothing or gift cards for kids in need, food, and other things needed by her students, who range in age.
“Many people forget that we also have a daycare here, so I oversee the tiniest of our babies and then our babies who are getting ready to graduate high school and take that first step into adulthood. I want these kids’ parents, families, and guardians to know that we have evacuation plans with all these agencies. I want to invite all the surrounding law enforcement to come into the school now just in case we ever have a situation that needs to happen. The active shooter jumps into our minds, but we also have weather-related events out here.
The fire department has come through. It makes it so much easier if the people who will be my partners and helping hands already know the layout of every building so we can work well together in a stressful and fast-moving situation. But I also want to help the kid with their everyday lives. I can always take candy. I can always take bottled water. I chose to stay in Sayre and raise my family here because I knew first-hand that this was the kind of community I wanted for my girls. Now, I get to be a part of that as an adult. I am excited and want to let the community know my door is always open.”
