By Pete O’Cain
The Wenatchee World, Wash.
EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. — As a teen, Marysville Middle School was a respite from home for East Wenatchee police officer Ivy Jacobsen — her “seven hours of freedom,” as she said in an interview.
Home was abusive. Her father sexually abused her and was violent toward her mother and two younger siblings.
At school, she befriended a school resource officer named Dave White. She didn’t tell White about home. Not at first.
Jacobsen disclosed the abuse to authorities a few years later while a sophomore in high school, and White was the arresting officer, she said.
This week, life came full circle for Jacobsen: she was announced as the new school resource officer for the Eastmont School District, just like White.
“He saved my life,” Jacobsen said of her mentor. She added he “essentially inspired me in that I wanted to be a public servant in service to others. In order to be a servant like him I had to become a police officer.”
Her father was convicted of rape and child molestation in 2013 and sentenced to 16 years in prison, according to KUOW in Seattle.
On Wednesday, the East Wenatchee Police Department announced Jacobsen will be the new school resource officer for the Eastmont School District.
Jacobsen said she hopes to be a voice for victims who “helps others in their journey of getting help and seeking their justice” like her former school resource officer in Marysville. That’s why she’s public about her personal experiences with abuse.
https://twitter.com/EastmontSchools/status/1501681226540675072
Jacobsen joined the East Wenatchee Police Department in 2021 after spending the first four years of her career with the Bothell Police Department where she was named its top officer in 2020. She also worked as a spokesperson for Dawson Place Child Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization that works with victims of child physical and sexual abuse.
The police department hasn’t had a school resource officer in more than a decade.
The Eastmont School Board approved an agreement with the city of East Wenatchee in October to share costs. The position is expected to cost $135,000, including salary and benefits, with the school district paying about $81,000 and the city paying about $54,000.
State legislation requires police departments to seek input from school districts when selecting a school resource officer, but the selection is ultimately made by the individual police department. Two East Wenatchee officers applied for the position and gave presentations to Eastmont officials detailing their personal backgrounds and plans for the position.
As a school resource officer, Jacobsen will be tasked with intervening with students and connecting them with services to avoid trouble.
The majority of her time will be spent at Eastmont High School and Eastmont and Sterling junior high schools, though Jacobsen is expected to also make visits to the district’s six elementary schools.
“For the first year we’re really just laying the groundwork for getting the SRO program started at the Eastmont School District,” said Chief Rick Johnson.
“Our plan obviously is we’re reestablishing a connection with that community,” Johnson said.
He noted that, during the school day, Eastmont High School is the largest population center in the city. That’s roughly 1,450 people, according to the school district.
“She’s going to be their community cop,” Johnson said.
To that affect, Jacobsen said she wants to help restore public trust in police.
By June, Jacobsen is expected to complete 93 hours of training specific to work as a school resource officer: 13 hours online, followed by 40 hours of basic SRO training in Ellensburg and then another 40 hours of advanced school resource officer training in the Tri-Cities, Johnson said.
Among her top priorities will be to examine existing emergency actions plans — procedures to follow in disasters or emergencies.
“I plan on walking through schools with Ballard (Ambulance) to see that they agree with the emergency plans,” Jacobsen said. “We need to have that open communication and make it clear with not only patrol, but with schools and medical teams that we would be working with as well.”
Her first day is March 28.
“My approach with our kiddos here is I want them to be able to trust me,” Jacobson said.
(c)2022 The Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, Wash.)