Dr. Walter Stephens, Executive Director of School Operations for the Houston County School District, has been named to the Board of Directors for the Georgia Alliance of School Resource Officers and Educators (G.A.S.R.O.E.) The mission of the G.A.S.R.O.E. is to provide collaborative training programs for school resource officers and school personnel at all levels. G.A.S.R.O.E. holds an annual conference that brings together all school safety disciplines to discuss current security issues and trends while seeking to provide attendees the tools to address those needs. 

Dr. Stephens is a native of Twiggs County and a graduate of Twiggs County High School. He attended Tuskegee University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. Dr. Stephens earned a Master of Public Administration from Southern University and A & M College and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Mercer University. 

Dr. Stephens began his teaching and administrative career at Twiggs County Comprehensive Middle and High School. In 2008, Dr. Stephens joined the Houston County School District as the Assistant Principal at Northside High School. He was later named Principal of Thomson Middle School, which at the time was the only Title 1 whole school STEM Certified School in the State of Georgia. In 2019, Dr. Stephens was hired as a Director of School Operations, where he served prior to being named Executive Director of School Operations.  

In his current role, Dr. Stephens has focused on the safety needs of all schools in the District. He played an instrumental role in the addition of Centegix, a safety alert feature that will be rolled out to all Houston County schools in the 2022-2023 school year. For more information about school safety in Houston County, visit https://www.hcbe.net/safetysecurity.