MPS students explore jobs in public safety

A program at Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) may be able to play a role in solving the police officer shortage in Minneapolis.
A public safety and service program is available to all MPS High Schools to help students explore aspects of law, public safety, and first responder career pathways. From police officers and firefighters to city council members and criminal investigators, the program’s four college-credit courses provide an early start for students interested in earning related degrees.
“As the Law & Public Safety program instructor with Minneapolis Public Schools, I am designing the curriculum to foster servant leadership in an industry that has struggled to lean into the servant hood aspect for many years,” wrote program instructor Alexis Love on her LinkedIn page. “Our nation feels it and cries out for better practices. I am laying the groundwork for it with high school students.”
Love helped design the program four years ago with the aim of encouraging and facilitating young peoples’ interest in public safety and law enforcement career fields. The intent was to create a high school to college pathway empowering graduates to contribute to the transformation of public safety professions in Minneapolis, toward objectives of equity, empathy, and community representation. The goal was set to become a paradigm-shifting program, preparing a diversity of students to serve and protect their own Minneapolis community.
From 2021-2024, the number of sworn-in police officers in the Minneapolis Police Department was on the decline. The number of sworn-in officers went from 817 to 638 in 2021, and was 561 in 2023. In 2025, for the first time in five years, numbers reached above 600. Still the number of Minneapolis police officers who live within the city they serve has been between only 5 and 8% over recent years. This is much lower than the national average for large cities, which is around 40%. Coinciding with that, the force has faced allegations staff lack empathy and compassion for Minneapolis residents. It’s a statistic that this program aims to help change.
The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers was a rock-bottom moment for the city, and Love hopes to see the city rise from that to be an example of how police should treat citizens. “Anytime you hit rock bottom, the only place you can go is up. How we get there, how fast we get there, and how well we get there is important to me,” said Love. “I would like to see us as a city do better and be a shining star for the rest of the nation.” She added, “I am one of those pie-in-the-sky type people. I can totally see us doing it.”

BUILDING A BRIDGE
Love’s law enforcement background began in Dallas, Texas. She only considered the profession when a police officer told her she would be good on the force with the way she delivered bad news. Love became a licensed police officer in Texas, family encouraged her to move back to Minnesota. With differing police education standards in Minnesota compared to Texas, Love would have needed to get her bachelor’s degree if she wanted to be a police officer. Being in her 30s, she did not want to be a rookie cop. She decided instead to get a master of arts in public safety and law enforcement leadership at St. Thomas University. Love worked several senior positions in security before she found her way to MPS and the newly formulated Public Safety and Service pathway within the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program.
Her work experience also includes serving as a children’s minister and children’s choir director at Park Avenue United Methodist Church, and working as a security sergeant in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis – the very community she grew up in.
“As a result of this background, my approach is student-centered and cooperative, and I bring a high level of cultural awareness to the work,” Love said in her district bio.
Love seeks to build a bridge between law enforcement and the community.
“Even though the uniform can look intimidating, how you carry yourself can determine if they see the uniform or if they see the person in it,” Love said.
“I’m trying to bridge the gap,” Love remarked. “I find it still a noble profession. It just hasn’t had a lot of noble characters in the profession. I’m trying to recruit noble characters.”
The program offers field trips, work-based learning experiences, and the opportunity to meet personnel within the field.
Former Edison High School student Michael Brixton joined the program during his junior year. Seeing Love as someone who can help rebuild her community, he emphasized the importance of programs like these.
“Having an instructor like Miss Love and just her dedication of wanting to rebuild the community with the police department, like that’s something I haven’t seen out of somebody in quite some time,” Brixton said.

READY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY WORK
The MPS CTE program helps students be ready for several in-demand occupations, and all of the four classes are eligible for college credit. With just a high school diploma, students can enter a firefighter training program or become child care specialists. With certification, they can work as emergency medical staff, technicians and paramedics. With an associates degree, they can be paralegals and legal assistants, or police and sheriff’s patrol officers. Upon earning a bachelor’s degree, they can be correctional treatment specialists, urban and regional planners, detectives and police officers. With a professional degree, they can be chief of police or lawyers.
The salary range for certified workers in the public safety and service industry range from $50,000 to $129,043, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Courses include Intro to Criminal Justice, which gives students a behind-the-scenes look at the American criminal justice system, with specific review of the roles and responsibilities of the police, courts, corrections institutions and the democratic foundations upon which the system is based. In the Law Enforcement and the Community class, students discuss police ethics, leadership, and officer influence within the individual decision-making processes. Other topics include: diversity, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and community service.
Emergency Services One introduces students to the field of public safety and extends their knowledge and skills pertaining to the safety and security of homes, workplaces, and the community.
Through the Emergency Services Two series, students learn how to save lives. They develop emergency medical skills and knowledge to assist people who have been injured or are suffering from a sudden illness or medical problem. This is the first step to earning an American Red Cross Emergency Medical Responder certificate.
The location at the CTE North High Center positions the law and pubic safety program in the same building as the healthcare pathway, led by Kari Slade, as well as the engineering, robotics and drone technology pathway led by Gabriel Pass. Drones are widely used in first response and public safety, and uniqely represents the world’s fastest growing industries. This allows collaboraion to hit a positive peak, according to CTE Principal Michael Luseni.
All of MPS CTE course offerings contribute to college credits toward career pathways positioned at the intersection of being the most high-paying and high-demand careers in the metro area. The career pathways were identified by the independent third party economic research group, Real Time Talent, and are based on ongoing five-year industry projections. In addition to earning college credits and industry credentials, students are connected to a variety of career exploration activities such as industry professional meetings and panels, worksite and company tours, immersive apprenticeships and internships. Each program is guided by an advisory board of industry professionals.
“The whole idea of CTE is that it is a full circle,” said Luseni.
Trevor Dunning is a University of Minnesota journalism student.