Broad Street Elementary School police officer Jim Green gets in on some fun with students in October 2022. Butler Eagle File Photo

James “Officer Jim” Green at Broad Street Elementary School has given haircuts to students who needed them, helped a blind student learn to play catch and has fixed bikes that students need to travel to and from school. Green recently earned a U.S. Recognizing Inspiring School Employees award, after being recognized in November with the Pennsylvania version of that honor.

Green, who was noted as a father figure and friend to students at the school by its staff and administrators, is someone we could all try to be more like.

It isn’t easy to stay positive all the time, especially when working with hundreds of students who are going through countless new experiences every day. Some of those experiences involve Green, who gives high fives and hugs to students as they come into the school, and also decorates the building for different seasons and holidays.

Something as small as a hug or high five can be a positive force, especially for a young person, and they don’t cost a thing to the person giving them out. Maybe the young students of Broad Street Elementary will carry on Green’s actions to others, creating a chain reaction of positive deeds.

You could just as easily start a similar chain reaction. No matter how small, a positive action can change someone’s day. And by helping one person, you may end up helping countless others.

Kudos to Green, who has continuously diverted recognition for him to the school and the students who support his radical positivity. The world wouldn’t be the same without you, and neither would the lives of the students of Broad Street Elementary.

“You’re all capable of anything and everything, and I believe you will do great things and change the world,” Green said.

— ET