Donald Crispell

My journey at The West Side School District is still unfolding. Over the past four school years, I’ve focused on building strong relationships with both students and staff, and I believe these years have contributed significantly to fostering a safer learning environment. I collaborate closely with school administration to address safety concerns and work on potential solutions.

This year, I had the opportunity to create a program specifically for our seniors, aimed at encouraging them to carefully consider their decision-making, particularly regarding drugs and alcohol. The speakers I invited came from diverse backgrounds and careers, offering a broad range of perspectives. Students were divided into small groups and spent thirty minutes interacting with each speaker. The event lasted two hours, filled with moments of both laughter and tears from students and speakers alike.

What stood out most was that, during the event, not a single student used their cell phone. Given how attached teenagers are to their phones, this felt like a real achievement. As someone who thinks outside the box, I’m confident that with the right environment, I can develop creative solutions to address the challenges our schools face.

• Protects citizens by preventing crime, enforcing laws, apprehending suspects, and monitoring traffic
• Prevent crimes by explaining and enforcing state, local laws and ordinances; explaining preventive and protective ways of keeping someone safe
• Mediating disputes; patrolling assigned areas; responding to notices of disturbances; conducting searches; observing suspicious activities; and detaining suspects

While working for the Mountain View Police Department, I was assigned to the Mountain View School District as both the School Resource Officer and Criminal Justice Instructor. When I first began, I was handed a stack of papers and told, "Here’s what you're teaching." These papers outlined the framework for the courses I was responsible for. While teaching itself wasn’t new to me, as I am a Law Enforcement Instructor for the State of Arkansas, I had never been tasked with developing an entire course from the ground up.

By the time school began, I had successfully created and prepared my classes. My time in the classroom allowed me to build meaningful relationships with students that I would not have had the opportunity to develop otherwise.

During my time at the Stone County Sheriff's Department, I gained experience in many areas of law enforcement. I started my career as a jailer and 911 operator before being hired as a Deputy Sheriff in September 2004. I decided to focus on drug enforcement, so I raised funds to purchase a Police K-9. Throughout my career with the K-9, we seized over $300,000 worth of illegal drugs and drug sale proceeds. I also completed training to become a Certified Narcotics Officer.

Driven by my willingness to take on new challenges, I was later assigned to oversee the Domestic Violence Program. This role involved investigating all felony domestic violence cases, as well as managing the Domestic Violence Grant through the DFNA.

While working on domestic violence cases, I identified a need for support for families during the holidays, which led to the creation of the Officer Santa Program. This initiative allows Santa to personally deliver Christmas gifts, including clothes, food, and toys, to families in need across Stone County. Additionally, I launched a backpack program to assist parents in providing school supplies for their children.