POCATELLO - Thomas Wolfe famously wrote, "You can't go home again," but he never said anything about home room.

Since February, Pocatello police officer Matt Harris, 27, has been back at his old middle school, Hawthorne, serving as the school resource officer.

"There are some teachers here when I was here (as a student). It's kind of funny coming back," he said. "I was a pretty good student but I kind of talked a little too much. They were probably thinking, 'Oh, great, what's this guy doing here?'"

What Harris is doing is interacting with middle school kids in a positive fashion, ensuring their safety and imbuing them with trust in law enforcement.

"The teachers and the administrators, they deal with the school rule violations - running in the hall and stuff like that," he said. "Basically, the SROs are there to be three-part teacher, counselor and law enforcement. We kind of wear a bunch of hats."

The law enforcement hat has been donned with some frequency in Pocatello by the Harris family. Harris' father, Lynn, started with the force in 1969 as a patrol officer.

He worked his way up through the ranks and eventually became the chief of police. He retired in 1999.

Matt's brother, Bryan, is also a patrol officer with the department.

Matt was in the patrol division for two and one-half years before the SRO position came open at his middle school alma mater. It's been a good fit, not only because he enjoys working with the students, but also because it affords him a conventional work schedule, an important consideration with a new baby in the family. Matt's wife, Hayli, gave birth to Blakely six months ago.

"It kind of helped out as far as schedules, but I wanted to do it," he said. "I had come over and talked to the other (SRO) that was here and got some information on it and how it worked. I thought it would be a good thing to do, work with the kids."

Harris' last year at Hawthorne was in 1998. The biggest change for him returning was in his perceptions.

"I've enjoyed working with the kids and seeing how much they think they actually know, compared to an adult when you see how things really are," he said. "You can relate to them. I remember when I thought I knew everything."

Harris monitors the students in the hallways and school grounds.

Anything that administrators think may be criminal in nature is immediately brought to his attention.

"Usually it's things like fights, thefts, every now and again, prescription drugs. The main thing we've been dealing with this year is fights," he said, noting that there have been some growing pains with School District 25's new policy of merging 6th-grade classes into the middle schools.

Perhaps one of the best benefits of having an officer at the school is the chance to develop a rapport.

"It helps in the perception when they grow into adults," Harris said. "They can remember a good interaction they had with an SRO and think that not all cops are out to get them."

Harris has also learned what so many parents and teachers have already experienced with teenagers.

"You know the old saying about how somebody takes their brain when they're 12 or 13 and doesn't give it back until they're 19 or 20?" he said. "I wish they'd bring them all back."