When Joseph Wright wakes up on July 1, he'll no longer have arguably one of the city's most important jobs.
Instead of holding the title of Lincoln Public Schools' director of security, a role he's known for more than a decade, Wright will roll out of bed as a retired man.
Head of Lincoln Public Schools' security efforts for the past 13 years, Joseph Wright is ready to retire, marking a 40-year career keeping the Capital City safe.
He's excited to get away from the slew of emails and late-night phone calls and instead get on the MoPac Trail — with his phone turned off. He doesn't yet know how far he'll go.
“I'm an old man, so we'll see,” Wright said. “When I start to think the halfway point is near, I should probably use the knowledge of my age.”
Wright's knowledge extends far beyond Lincoln's trails. As head of security with LPS for 13 years and an officer and captain with the Lincoln Police Department for 27 years, he's seen the city and school district evolve through a number of security changes.
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He helped LPS introduce threat assessment procedures across the district, a change he said he's proud of.
In addition to teachers and school administrators looking out for student and public safety, LPS has a full-time threat assessment team made up of social workers, a psychotherapist, an LPD investigator and Wright.
In the 13 years he's been with LPS, Wright has made sure safety is never an afterthought.
“We have a safety and security curriculum that we teach, and every administrator knows that safety and looking at issues through the threat assessment lens is part of their job,” Wright said. “It's not someone else's job to do. So we're a lot safer when all of our employees feel they're part of the security and safety team, and I think that has become much more of a reality over the time that I've been here.”
In addition to building the threat assessment team, Wright was there to lead LPS through the introduction of school resource officers, or SROs, in 2018. SROs are Lincoln Police officers who work inside LPS' middle and high schools in an effort to keep the schools and students safe. Importantly, Wright said, SROs aren't there to handle all student discipline issues.
“Our data of a super low number of arrests every year by our SROs shows that we're not mixing up what school administrators are supposed to be working on with police work,” Wright said. “Working together as a team really sorts that out.”
Wright spent Wednesday at Lincoln North Star High School with all of LPS' middle and high school administrators and SROs for a full day of threat assessment training.
Stephanie Leite, a national threat assessment leader, led the morning session and said LPS should be a model for how other school districts can implement threat assessment strategies effectively. LPS is full of “deep experts” who understand the importance of being proactive in school safety, Leite said.
“I hope LPS is being used as an example,” she said.
Hearing his district referred to as a model for school safety makes Wright hopeful. School districts are challenged for resources, he said, and it can be hard to convince people to put money toward positions like the ones that make up the threat assessment team.
“When you look at the efficiency of what our team creates, with the expertise we have, that lets people in the buildings not have to take time out to do other duties as assigned, and they can focus on their job and their expertise,” Wright said. “I think that other school districts might look at that model and say, ‘Let's give that a shot.’”
As he prepares to log out of his LPS email for the final time in about a month, Wright said he has a lot of optimism for the future of LPS' safety and security efforts.
“I think we've had a good stair-step for me to leave,” he said. “The team that we've assembled is ready to really take off.”
Wright said Nate Hill — currently a threat assessment investigator with LPD — will be a great successor, and the threat assessment team is well supported by city leaders, namely LPS Superintendent John Skretta and Lincoln Police Chief Michon Morrow.
“I really look forward to seeing what the team and our district and our police department are going to do in the next 10 years,” he said. “We'll be doing a lot better in 10 years than what we do now.
“I can't wait to see it happen.”
The Bright Side: Meet people making a difference in our community
The Lincoln Journal Star wants to highlight people who uplift and inspire, who make our community brighter, and whose stories deserves to be told. Email ideas to citydesk@journalstar.com.
The Lincoln Journal Star wants to highlight people who uplift and inspire, who make our community brighter, and whose stories deserves to be told.
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