Mount Airy City Schools is pleased to announce the addition of a School Resource Officer (SRO) to its staff. BH Tharrington Primary School and JJ Jones Intermediate School will welcome Officer Garrett Boles on staff beginning this week. This makes a total of three SROs for the district. Mount Airy High School and Mount Airy Middle School each have a full-time SRO, while BHT and Jones will be sharing this added position.
Officer Boles has been an officer with the Mount Airy Police Department since 2015 and is a 2011 graduate of Mount Airy High School. He and his wife, Jenna, have a three-year-old daughter Audrie.
BHT Principal Emily Niston notes, “We are excited to add a school resource officer to our staff. We believe that this officer’s presence will enhance our safety measures as well as being another great role model for our students.”
Some of his duties will include:
- Helping with arrival and dismissal traffic
- Conducting daily campus safety checks
- Mentoring and building relationships with students
Jones Principal Chelsy Payne adds, “Jones Intermediate School is honored to partner with the police department in this innovative way. Our students and staff will benefit from mentorship, building relationships, and increased campus security.”
This addition is possible thanks to a recently funded grant, sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the Center for Safer Schools. A total of three million dollars was awarded to NC schools this year to provide additional school resource officers. This grant will allow the district to continue achieving recurring funds to prioritize school safety. In addition to the SRO, MACS will now have the funds to purchase and install new keyless entry pads at BH Tharrington Primary, Jones Intermediate and Mount Airy High School. After testing this set-up with the middle school, the district believes this is a positive solution to the safety needs across all campuses within the district.
Penny Willard, Director of Innovative Programming, added, “This is an innovative opportunity to support school safety and our district’s belief in the value of social and emotional learning for students of all ages. Officer Boles will have the opportunity to utilize a supporting curriculum with students through meetings of teams and classes. He will be able to meet and connect with all students through his work as our school resource officer.”
Superintendent Dr. Kim Morrison noted, “We are excited that a strategy for safety and support of adding an elementary School Resource Officer has become realized for Mount Airy City Schools. MACS is thankful for the community support of the city commissioners and the state safety grant that has made this partnership with Mount Airy Police Department possible for us. We are excited that Officer Boles will be joining Officer Simmons and Officer Chamberlain in this important and vital work for students.”
Officer Boles notes, “ I am excited about this new opportunity to serve as a School Resource Officer for the Mount Airy City School System. I feel that my training and experience will provide a valuable foundation as we implement this new position. The ability to work with our students is important to me because it will allow me to invest time and resources into one of most valuable resources, our youth. I am thankful for this opportunity and look forward to this new partnership.”
Mount Airy City Schools Board of Education is proud to announce this addition to our SRO team and look forward to the continued partnership with the Mount Airy Police Department.