The Carmel Clay School Board has approved David Woodward as the district’s new Director of Student Services.
Woodward will be responsible for leading the district’s student support programming that includes school safety and security, mental health initiatives and various daily operations focused on student support services. He will assume the position around the first week of September.
Carmel Clay Superintendent Dr. Michael Beresford (left) and Carmel police officer D.J. Schoeff (right) welcome David Woodward as the district’s new Director of Student Services following the school board’s approval at Wednesday’s meeting. (Photo provided)
Most recently, Woodward served 13 years as the Director of School Building, Physical Security and Safety for the Indiana Department of Education. His division oversees the daily safety operations for Indiana schools. He also served as the director of the Indiana School Safety Specialists Academy, training nearly 3,000 educators to become certified school safety specialists. Under his leadership, the program received national attention, prompting other states to replicate the Indiana school safety training model. Aside from providing safety training to thousands of educators, he was responsible for conducting physical safety reviews in hundreds of schools across the state.
Woodward’s other notable accomplishments include creating the first countywide school safety commissions now outlined in Indiana Code and collaborating with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to establish school safety guidelines. He has delivered hundreds of presentations around the state that focus on a variety of topics including school safety, bullying prevention and intervention and mental health. He currently serves as a consulting board member for the Indiana School Resource Officer Association and is a member of the Governor’s Executive Cybersecurity Council for Indiana.
Woodward earned his Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University in Psychology and his Masters of Science in Counseling Education.
“It is a privilege and an honor to be selected as the Director of Student Services for Carmel Clay Schools,” said Woodward. “I look forward to working with an outstanding team of leaders to advance school safety measures, mental health programming, and other student support services throughout the district.”
“I am thrilled to have an individual of David’s talent and demeanor join the Carmel Clay Schools administrative team,” said Superintendent Dr. Michael Beresford. “He has a proven record of bringing best practice initiatives to a large scale successfully. He is also a very humble leader who understands the collaborative process. I am excited to see him connect with our building leaders and coordinate our efforts to keep our students safe and supported.”