Over the last few years the Horseheads Police Department has become directly involved with the public school system by offering both elementary school instructional courses and high school level courses. These public school programs are accredited and instructed by officers of the department. Life Skills is a new program being initiated in the Horseheads School District. It is a comprehensive program that encompasses a combination of health information, general life skills and drug resistance skills. It uses a variety of teaching methodologies and is aimed at self-improvement for middle school aged children.
Police officers instruct the course with school teachers in the classroom setting.
It is offered at the Horseheads High School during regular school hours. The course covers a variety of topics that the students are tested on including police history, firearms, force, search and seizure, death investigations, major crimes, probation, parole and corrections. Expert guest instructors also assist throughout the course. The program was developed and instructed by Sgt. Stickler in 1997 and is still offered for high school level students.