Page 30 - November2018

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Testing...Testing
Free seminar coming to start prepping for promotional exams
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
Promotional exams in the Department come slightly more often than the Cubs winning the World Series. Or so it seems.
But when they do come – and rumor has it that a sergeant’s exam might be scheduled within the next two years – will Chi- cago Police Officers interested in testing be ready to develop that promotion mindset? With the frequency, or infrequency, of exams, promotional testing has truly become a lifestyle, and what’s at stake for officers and their families and the commit- ment extends beyond subject-matter expertise.
“The mindset sets the tone not only for how you study, but how successful you will be,” explains Jim Harris, the leader of the J. Harris Academy of Police Training. “Do you have that mindset to motivate your drive to succeed? Once you hear that mindset that it’s OK not to study, then you’re telling yourself it’s OK to fail. And with your failure, somebody else gets that better life. Somebody else gets that better pension.”
The J. Harris Academy will help Chicago Police Officers sam- ple the mindset with a day of promotional test seminars Dec. 3 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Three two-hour ses- sions are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., noon and 5:30 p.m.
This academy that works with officers across the country and has had a 100 percent success rate with its initial students in Chicago, subscribes to a philosophy integral to successful promotional test prep study groups: They are by cops for cops.
“An extension of the sisterhood and brotherhood,” Har- ris reasons. “It’s not that aspect of teachers and students. It’s brothers and sisters helping each other be successful in their lives.”
The J. Harris Academy seminar will offer the opportunity to sample a prep program that facilitates the law enforcement lifestyle. This begins with the academy’s online classroom and presents instructional videos, study guides and practice exams.
Harris and his team have also developed unique online flash- cards to maximize retention of material. In addition, the sem- inars will include a 20-minute segment focusing on Depart- ment policy. Attendees should get a sense of how the in-person lectures integrate with the online classroom as an important mechanism to manicure the test prep to a job that often re- quires last-minute adjustments to work schedules.
“Because we are active police officers, we not only think about what you need to be successful on the exam but we know what the stress is like on you and your family when you are studying,” Harris submits. “Those aspects have assisted us in developing this program to maximize your retention in the shortest amount of time for you to succeed.”
Harris and colleagues Allen Bloodgood and Phil Rizzo are ac- tive police officers in New Jersey who have grown the academy from tutoring friends to a nationwide entity that has been re- sponding the past few years to inquiries from officers through- out the country.
30 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2018
Several of those inquiries came from officers in Chicago and Illinois. The Harris Academy, which has found that department policies are, for the most part, uniform in theory and execution throughout the country. And its research of the companies that create the exams fills its practice tests with many of the ques- tions candidates will find on the actual exams.
Harris holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Adminis- tration from Monmouth University and currently is the Admin- istrative Bureau Commander of the Toms River, New Jersey Po- lice Department. Bloodgood is a captain with the Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Police Department, who served with the U.S. Air Force during Operation Desert Storm and has expertise in legal issues. Rizzo is a lieutenant with the Franklin Township, New Jersey Police Department who has served in patrol, com- munications, community affairs and administration.
“We have found that a hybrid-style instructional method works best for law enforcement officers,” Harris says. “We in- corporate different mediums because we know everybody learns differently. So we integrate those methods to maximize retention. We don’t care if you spend 12 hours in front of a book. If you don’t retain anything, you are wasting time.”
Attending one of the J. Harris Academy seminars on Dec. 3 would seem to be anything but a waste of time for any Chica- go Police Officer looking at ascending to detective, sergeant or beyond. Rizzo will tell some great stories to generate best ideas about issues that come up every day on the job. Bloodgood will report information about policy and procedure that will give all officers something they can take back to the job.
And Harris believes it will all be a sample of the objective the academy has for every student.
“All of our students come back and tell us this class made them a better copper,” he emphasizes. “So we are excited about the opportunity to help our sister and brother officers with their test preparation.”
J. Harris Academy of Police Training Chicago Police FREE Promotional Test Seminar
Dec. 3
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place 2233 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
• Session 1: 0830 to 1030
• Session 2: 1200 to 1400
• Session 3: 1730 to 1930
All sessions will be the same program.