Sultana High's Sarah Chatten completes internship with school police department

Sultana High School Senior Sarah Chatten recently received kudos from the school district’s police department.

Hesperia Unified School District Police officials congratulated Chatten for being the first student to complete the Experiential Learning Program Internship through the department.

“We enjoyed having you see what police officers do on a day-to-day basis,” police officials said. “We look forward to more students participating in this program.”

Chatten participated in the five-week law enforcement program, which included two hours of instruction twice a week.

Chatten said she learned the importance of police officers on school campuses as well as the day-to-day life of a district attorney.

“I was interested in the program because it gave me a chance to look into a career field I am interested in,” Chatten said.

Chatten said after she graduates, she intends to study law and is still looking at her college options.

Her father, Scott Chatten, said that during her time at Sultana High, Sarah has participated in varsity cross country, soccer and softball. She is also No. 1 in her class for academics.

Some of her school awards include MVP cross country, Soccer Player of the Year and a Student-Athlete Award.

Sarah is also a part of the National Honors Society, California Scholarship Society, student site council, secretary of the Zoo Crew, member of Link Crew and part of the Early College Academy, her father said.

Outside of school, Sarah has coached and umpired for the Hesperia American Little League.

Starting at 'high school level'

Police Sgt. Kevin Bacor said after they showed Chatten the day-to-day operations of a school police officer, they focused on the court system and laws of the state of California.

“We gave Sarah a tour of the Victorville Superior Courthouse, the District Attorney's Office and the Public Defender's Office,” Bacor said. “We introduced Sarah to a supervising district attorney who allowed Sarah to ‘shadow’ her for a day and offered her an internship at the district attorney's office.”

Sarah was also contacted by the public defender's office and offered an internship.

The police department currently has another Sultana High student in the program, who is scheduled to complete his internship toward the end of January 2024.

“We currently have four more students interested in the program and we are going to try and squeeze in to finish out our 2023-2024 school year,” Bacor said. “We are looking to expand the program, however, it is difficult to take on too many interns, due to the confidentiality of our police investigations.”

Bacor said the police department is interested in having students understand police officers and all the great things they do for communities.

“We need more good people in our profession and it starts at the high school level,” Bacor said.

Experiential Learning Program

Created in 2019, the learning program was short-lived due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March of the following year.

In December 2022, the learning program was resurrected and again offered students internship opportunities in a variety of career fields available in Hesperia.

Sultana High counselor Jennifer Hallett explained that the program is designed to give students first-hand experience and knowledge in various careers and fields that they might be interested in.

“Students are able to gain in-person field experience after they complete an application,” Hallett said. “Based on their interests, what they want to do, what they want to learn about, they are placed in a local company, school, or business and have the ability to learn more about their desired field.”

Last year, Hallett said the district was creating partnerships with High Desert-based companies to connect with the program and its students.

Chatten, who previously participated in the intern program, working at Krystal and Juniper elementary schools, said she recommends the program to other students.

“The program has so many different career exploring options and it can give students a better idea of what they want to be,” Chatten said. “You can never truly understand how much you would actually enjoy a job unless you actually test out the job. It’s a lot of fun, and worth the time and effort!”

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Sultana High's Sarah Chatten completes internship with school police