School Board Appoints New Director of School Safety and Emergency Management

The School Board appointed Sgt. Aaron Queen as the new Director of School Safety and Emergency Management effective July 1. Sgt. Queen has served for more than 20 years in the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD).Sgt. Queen has held various roles during his career with the ACPD including patrol officer, crime scene agent, community police officer, school resource officer (SRO), detective, master police officer, and most recently, leadership roles in Patrol Operations and Community Engagement Divisions.

Sgt. Queen is very passionate about ensuring that our youth have every opportunity to learn in a safe learning environment; and focusing on and finding new ways to protect, manage, and minimize risk, while implementing new safety strategies to keep all Arlington students and staff members safe.

As a SRO, he spent 12 years of his law enforcement career assigned to Williamsburg and Thomas Jefferson middle schools, Arlington Community High School, the Career Center, Langston, H-B Woodlawn, New Directions, and Washington-Liberty and Wakefield high schools.

During this time, he taught countless students, staff, and parents various safety topics. Sgt. Queen trained new SROs and led and coordinated lockdown drills throughout the county. He planned and coordinated numerous large-scale school events. In addition, he also served as girls basketball coach for seven years at Washington-Liberty and as substitute teacher at various locations.

Throughout his career, Sgt. Queen has been trained in all aspects of law enforcement. He successfully completed various leadership training, including the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA) Trilogy, which consists of the Supervisory Leadership Institute, Command Leadership Institute, and the Executive Leadership Institute. He obtained certifications in Crisis Intervention Training, Active Shooting/Active Violence Incident Training, and two of the county’s professional development cohort programs. In addition, he completed several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Incident Management Systems Trainings.

Sgt. Queen is an Arlington resident and proud parent of three adults who attended Arlington Public Schools.

This is a new position in the Office of School Support which will now focus on oversight of principals and directors of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as school safety, including all School Safety Coordinators. Responsibility for physical security and risk management will remain in operations as part of Facilities and Operations.