Officer Lia Faber is the newest school resource officer (SRO) in Maize USD 266. Faber is the SRO at all five of the district’s elementary schools, which house grades kindergarten through four.

Faber has a background in child welfare and has a degree in psychology from Friends University. She is in her third week working as a SRO and has been a police officer with the Maize Police Department since July 2022.

Faber said her role in the elementary schools is to create positive relationships and make kids comfortable being around a uniformed police officer.

"I tell all the students I am there to keep them safe and I get to be their friend," she said. "A lot of my day-to-day is positive reinforcement, support, and helping the students know they are safe."

In her spare time, Faber enjoys spending time with her 10-year-old daughter and watching sports.

Having SRO presence in elementary schools is new this year for Maize USD 266. There have been and continue to be SROs in the intermediate, middle, and high schools. It’s rare that a school district has a SRO in elementary schools, said Tim Brant, Maize USD 266 Executive Director of Health, Safety, and Prevention. He has a background in law enforcement.

This addition is not the only change in terms of SRO presence this year at Maize USD 266. With the support of SROs, the district also brought back the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. It teaches students how to make healthy choices and good decisions. More than 600 fifth graders at Maize Intermediate School and Maize South Intermediate School will participate during the year.

Click here to read more about the D.A.R.E. program in Maize.

If you need to contact Faber, she can be reached at lfaber@usd266.com.