When the first bell rang out in the halls of Waldron Schools on Thursday, it signaled more than just the beginning of a new school day. It was a welcoming for the district’s new school resource officer, Ethan Millard.
Millard began his career in law enforcement in 2019 as a deputy with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.
“Ethan comes to us from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, where he has served as a Patrol Deputy for the past two years and has past experience as a youth minister for a local church,” shared Waldron Police Chief Jeremy Hunt. “He was the unanimous choice of the interview board, which consisted of three of the school’s principals, (Superintendent) Daniel Fielding and myself. Ethan has big shoes to fill, as he replaces Gary Clepper. Gary held that position for around 12 years and had a great relationship with children and staff at each of the schools. Ethan’s first day of school will be April 1st, which will give him some time to get acclimated before school lets out for the summer. During the summer he will transition to patrol duties with the Police Department and will attend training to start the process to become a Certified School Resource Officer.”
Superintendent of Waldron Schools stated: “We are very excited to have Mr. Ethan Millard joining Waldron Public Schools as our new school resource officer! Mr. Millard is a Waldron graduate and displays a very positive attitude in everything he does. He will be a great addition to our team.”
Millard feels blessed with the opportunity to serve as the School Resource Officer. “When I was growing up at Waldron, we didn’t have a School Resource Officer. So as kids there was no relationship with Police, something that is growing more and more necessary as the years progress. To me, being an SRO means being there for students. It means being someone who does correct them when they mess up. But it also means being someone who, instead of changing students, guides them in being a better version of themselves. My goal is to be able to build a relationship with students and faculty, to be a face that they enjoy meeting in the hallways, and to be someone who makes every person feel completely safe knowing that I am there watching over them. I’m excited about what the future will look like at Waldron Public Schools, and I’m excited to start working with everyone there.”
