A former Rockwood School District student is returning to the district as an adult, and a long-time employee will be taking on more responsibility this school year.
Tyrone Dennis, a Marquette High School graduate, has been named the district safety officer, and Brittany Hogan, who is entering her eighth year with the district, has been promoted to director of educational equity and diversity.
Dennis was approved by a 5-0 vote with board member Tom Dunn abstaining from the consent agenda item vote dealing with personnel items, and Hogan was approved by a 6-0 vote by the seven-member Board of Education at its July 23 meeting. Board member Lynne Midyett was absent.
Both employees said they will help educate students about social and diversity issues.
Rockwood dealt with two instances of racial insensitivity in social media posts in January and February. In one post, a student used a racial slur and in the other, a student appeared in blackface in a video.
Hogan, 35, of St. Louis was formerly the district’s coordinator of educational equity.
She said equity in all district facilities is everyone’s responsibility and she will support such efforts.
“My goal is that equity and diversity inclusion is embedded in our curriculum and is in our discipline practices, how we treat each other as staff members, and also how we interact with students and how students treat each other,” Hogan said. “And ensuring that students see reflections of themselves in their educational spaces.”
Dennis, 41, who comes from Atlanta, said he hopes to foster communication on racial injustice as part of his new job.
“Everyone is making a big push on cultural awareness,” Dennis said. “I would love to talk about that and basically try to make it a comfortable subject to talk about. Most people don’t talk about it because they feel uncomfortable with some of the topics and I think I can help make it more comfortable and more understanding. The whole goal is to create empathy amongst us all and make our world better.”
He said he doesn’t want students to face lifelong punishment for mistakes.
“I don’t want to demonize anybody for anything because in some regard, they may not know any better or they may not know they are offending someone,” Dennis said. “I think that by creating different opportunities for students, parents and staff to meet with each other in a different setting, not just in a classroom, to be able to discuss these things will provide clarity.”
Dennis’s journey
Dennis, who grew up in north St. Louis, graduated from Marquette in 1997 as a participant in the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation program.
At Marquette, he played on the basketball team. He said that he felt misunderstood at times because he had to miss basketball workouts to work to afford to go to the prom. Dennis was raised in a single-parent home.
During his senior year, Dennis was suspended for 43 days for being involved in a friend’s fight. He was not allowed to attend his senior prom and was escorted to and from his seat at graduation, Dennis said.
Dennis said he called his mother, Cecelia Savage, 63, of St. Louis after being hired and told her, “Mom, I’m coming home.”
Dennis said he is proud to share his past, as he says that is his “redemption.”
“You don’t always get to redeem yourself right away,” Dennis said. “Sometimes it takes time. Look at me – it took 23 years.”
Dennis said that talking to his mom about his job offer brought him full circle.
“The same school district that kicked you out, is now asking and hoping that you come back,” he said his mother told him over the phone. ”If that’s not a story to be told to make anyone know that you can always change and become something better, I don’t know what is.”
Dennis worked for more than 15 years as a police officer and detective with the Atlanta Police Department. He is also a certified gang expert.
Dennis said his background will help him in his new position.
“I’m used to interacting with all different walks of life and basically being able to make decisions on the fly,” Dennis said. “I will be able to interact with different students and parents along the way to make it a smooth transition and to make my presence known.”
As part of his job, Dennis will design and implement a comprehensive districtwide security and safety program. He will train staff in safety and security measures, maintain emergency plans, crisis response strategies and recovery plans.
He will be paid a salary of $99,000.
Dennis said he wasn’t looking for a new job when Marquette basketball coach Eric Schweain contacted him about the newly created position. Schweain was an assistant coach when Dennis played at the school.
“Tyrone knows Rockwood,” said Terry Harris, executive director of student services. “I think he will be able to relate to the school community, the kids and our school resource officers. It is a perfect fit to have Tyrone in this role with his background in education in Atlanta and history in the Rockwood School District.”
In Atlanta, Dennis started “Clippers and Cops,” that brought police and community members to a barbershop for monthly discussions.
“A barbershop is practically a black man’s country club,” Dennis said. “That’s where we go to talk about everything under the sun, why not talk about social issues and have police and citizen engagement?”
Dennis said St. Louis, Memphis and Dallas have implemented similar programs.
He said he wants to be involved in similar conversations at Rockwood.
“I want to talk about it,” Dennis said. “I want to face the problems head on. By being black and being from a different environment, I am able to understand both sides and try to come up with a solution. I’m not saying I can solve the problem, but I can help make it a little better.”
Dennis received bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and sociology from the University of North Alabama.
Dennis was named Investigator of the Year in 2015, earned a U.S. Attorney Office of Southern District of Georgia Community Service Award in 2017 and was named Alumni of the Year by North Alabama earlier this year.
Hogan’s expanded duties
Hogan was an equity facilitator and social worker in Rockwood before becoming the district’s coordinator of educational equity and diversity and now the director of educational equity and diversity.
“This position is not a new position,” Harris said. “We are increasing Brittany’s responsibilities. Brittany is going to be the person who is all things educational equity in the Rockwood School District. The times are calling for this position.”
Hogan said she is excited for the new duties.
“I hope to continue to bring education equity and access in equity to the forefront of everything we do when it comes to educating our children in Rockwood,” Hogan said.
Hogan’s salary will be increased from $102,802 to $107,131 with the promotion.