BY NICOLE VILLACRÉS

The Northampton Police Department has ended their “High Five Friday” program, in which a group of officers would rotate between the four elementary schools every Friday to welcome kids to school. The NPD initiated the program in December of 2016 to foster positive encounters between police and young children. The program was shut down due to parents’ concerns about the presence of officers and the effect it might have on their children, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.