Lauren Shelton has brought a wealth of educational knowledge and an enthusiasm to work with children to her new role with the Rock Community Fire Protection District.
Shelton, 31, of Arnold has been named Rock Fire’s public education specialist and began her new job on April 3.
“I really think Rock Community is a well-respected agency in the community,” Shelton said. “I love their mission of prevention. I think that is the best way to keep children and community members safe. I think it is a great organization. I really wanted to go back to working with children and do it with an agency that has a great reputation that does well with the community they serve.”
For the past three years, Shelton said, she has been a probation and parole officer contracted to the FBI as a task force officer serving on the Gateway Strike Force, which is a task force made up of federal and area agencies that target gang and drug activity.
Shelton also is a staff development trainer with Missouri’s Division of Probation and Parole, and she is certified to teach skills like CPR and first aid.
She said her law-enforcement career began about seven years ago when she started working as a child abuse and neglect investigator for the Missouri Department of Social Services. She then became a child and family advocate at the children’s advocacy center.
Shelton said she also developed a program about mandated reporting that is taught at the Jefferson County Law Enforcement Academy.
“(Shelton) has a great background of teaching, training and development,” said Alyson Barton, who was Rock Fire’s public education specialist before being promoted to public education coordinator. “She brings that teaching aspect and will help us take things to the next level and push forward with some of our programs.”
Rock Fire’s three-member Board of Directors voted unanimously March 9 to hire Shelton. The district will initially pay her an annual salary of $52,020.
Shelton said she had been making about $47,000 a year.
Before working in law enforcement, Shelton said she was a nanny.
She said joining Rock Fire will allow her to work with children again while continuing to serve the community.
“I’ve always pretty much worked with children and love working with children,” she said. “I got away from that working with Probation and Parole and the FBI. I am now circling back.”
Barton said she wants to get Shelton familiarized with the district’s Student Tools for Emergency Preparedness (STEP) third-grade curriculum and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.
“Those are things we push into classrooms,” Barton said. “Anytime we can take that to the next level or add something to it will benefit the kids and community. We always want to start with the kids.”
Barton said after focusing on Rock Fire’s children education program, she and Shelton will turn their attention to refining the district’s business preparedness classes.
“That is when we teach businesses CPR, exit drills, fire extinguisher safety and things like that.
“We will start with the schools,” Barton said. “Any time we can take the prevention step up a notch, I am all for it.”