County Police Assigned to Sperreng Middle School

There's a new sheriff in town at Lindbergh’s Sperreng Middle School and students should find he’s as friendly as their former Student Resource Officer (SRO) Mike Kaufman.

St. Louis County Police Officer Jeff Kriska took over as Sperreng’s SRO last month after Kaufman was reassigned as a detective in the department’s Auto Crime Unit.

Kriska, with nine years on the job, most recently riding a beat in the South County Precinct, says he applied for an SRO position months ago and got the call at the end of last year.

He’s worked with middle school age kids before, serving as an SRO at Parkway South High School when he worked for the Manchester Police Department. He said he looks forward to the job, with over 1,200 students at Sperreng every day.

“This is interesting, that’s for sure,” Kriska said. “It’s mostly just getting out and interacting and intervening with these kids. You just let them know you’re here and show them you’re not just a police officer but someone they can come and talk to.”

In the coming school year, Sperreng will have half the students since Truman will open as a middle school and the district will divide the 6th - 8th grade population equally between the two schools. Kriska said he would split his time between Sperreng and Truman.

Kriska described his approach with students.

“Just because I wear this uniform doesn’t mean anything,” Kriska said. “I can be a friend to you too, and help you with whatever you need. I’m not just here to enforce the laws, I’m here to also be a guidance counselor basically.”

Kriska and his wife, Laura, live in Fenton with their two children, Tyler, 4, and Zachary, 2. In his free time Kriska golfs and plays soccer as a member of the St. Louis Police Soccer Club, which participates in the North American Police Soccer Championships.

So Kriska likely has insight into family issues through raising his own two young children.

“I get a lot of kids who come in here and talk to me about problems they’re having at home,” Kriska said. “They feel comfortable enough to come in and talk to me.”

He’s a fixture in the school as the bell rings and the halls flood with students changing classes.

Some of the programs started under Kaufman’s watch have been put on hold for the time being.

“I want to get my feet wet, get to know the kids and then we’ll go from there,” he said. “I am looking forward to the. . .chance to work with students.”