Former Delray Beach police chief heading to the classroom

By Maria Herrera

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

July 04, 2008

Former Police Chief Larry Schroeder is changing jobs. But to many, the 30-year veteran of the department will always be 'the chief.'

'We are going to call him chief,' said Atlantic High School Principal Kathleen Weigel - his new boss. 'He's not leaving the city, he's just relocating his office.'

Schroeder, 51, will begin teaching at the high school's Criminal Justice Academy later this month. He retired Monday.

'I never gave it a thought I would be teaching,' Schroeder said. 'But the school agreed to hire another teacher and they were hoping for a retired police officer. I called and asked if they would consider me.'

With a personnel file full of praise, the school could not have asked for a better teacher for its criminal justice program, Weigel said.

Schroeder will be one of two teachers to lead the criminal justice program. Though no stranger to the classroom after teaching criminology courses at Palm Beach Community College, Schroeder has no work experience dealing with high school students.

He sat through several classes at the high school and said the program has taught students to view police officers differently.

'There was a lot more going on in that classroom than just learning about criminal justice,' he said. 'It's about being a good citizen.'

The program, conceived by officers at the Delray Beach Police Department five years ago, has grown from 15 students to more than 300, Capt. Joe Milenkovic said.

Students earn certificates as community service officers. They help with crowd control and write reports for traffic incidents.

The former chief was born and raised in Delray Beach as the son of a Marine Corps drill instructor. Schroeder earned his bachelor's degree in management of human resources at Palm Beach Atlantic University and a master's of public administration at Nova Southeastern University - all while working full time as an officer.

To his students, Schroeder will say: 'If I can do this, you can do this, too.'

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