MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Baldwin County Schools now has a Director of Safety and Security. The search for one began last August as the district said they needed someone completely devoted to school safety.
13WMAZ’s Jessica Cha tells us more about that.
Corey Goble is not a stranger to the area. He worked at the Baldwin County Sheriff's office for 10 years, and is back to help kids here feel safe.
"The ultimate goal is to make the Baldwin County School system the safest, most secure school district in the state,” Goble says.
Goble is coming from the Bibb County school system. He started his career there as the Chief Investigator for the campus police.
However, his job started to evolve throughout the years.
"I developed a talent for emergency management and was moved into the role I was in when I left, which was kind of safety and security manager,” he explains.
Goble says he acted as a bridge between schools and emergency services, strengthened security, and helped students and staff prepare for situations.
"We focused on getting our teachers comfortable with the uncomfortable– like a fire, or severe weather, or something in the community that has a negative impact,” he says.
Goble says he's still learning the ropes, but plans to bring those fundamentals to Baldwin County.
"I'm gonna come in, I'm gonna listen to people. I'm gonna see what's working, I'm gonna see what we can work better, and keep our kids as safe as we can keep them.”
Goble says one of his goals is improving communication with parents.
Parents like Jacinta Chapple whose kids go to Baldwin schools. She's worried about the growing use of social media.
"I have recently heard of different TikTok challenges that they have, and I'm actually happy that they do have a school safety officer back into the school system communicating with all schools at all times,” Chapple explains. “Children are easily influenced by different things so having someone like that in the school system is really going to help them out.”
Mandy Hopkins is a first grade teacher at Midway Hills Primary. She says she already feels prepared and safe in school, but thinks Goble's job is necessary.
"I think when they leave their kids with us, they expect that our first goal is to keep them safe,” Hopkins says. “I think they feel better knowing we have these things in place.”
Goble says he's still introducing himself and talking to people at the district's six schools. He says then he'll be able to assess areas that could be improved.