Dubose Elementary shows appreciation to Alice police for National Police Week

At Dubose Elementary, a small gesture carried the weight of a larger lesson: students and staff publicly showed appreciation to Alice police during National Police Week, turning a campus moment into a visible sign of trust between children and the officers who serve their city.

That matters at a school that serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and says it fosters a strong sense of community and school spirit. Dubose identifies its students as the YOTES, and the message from campus was clear: civic appreciation is not just for adults in council chambers or on ceremonial stages. It can start with young students learning the names, faces and roles of the people who help keep Alice safe.

The timing gave the gesture added meaning. National Police Week ran May 10-16, 2026, with the 38th Annual Candlelight Vigil scheduled for Wednesday, May 13. The observance dates back to 1962, when President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and set aside the surrounding week as National Police Week. In Alice, that national tradition has been marked locally before, including Alice Police Department memorial coverage in 2022 and 2023 and the Jim Wells County Sheriff's Department’s annual National Police Week ceremony.

For Alice police, the recognition came from a community they work in every day, not just on formal occasions. The department says its responsibilities include patrol, traffic enforcement, criminal investigations and support services. It also operates a gang unit that works educationally with parents, teachers and community groups, a reminder that local policing in Alice reaches beyond enforcement and into outreach.

That connection helps explain why a school-based thank-you resonates in Jim Wells County. A gesture from Dubose Elementary places students, teachers and officers on the same side of a simple civic lesson: public servants are part of the neighborhood fabric. In a city where police work includes daily contact with families, school outreach and community safety, those relationships are built one visit and one classroom gesture at a time.