The Mustang Board of Education approved the hire of Jennifer Newell to fill the new position of Director of School Safety and Security. Newell, a retired officer for the Norman Police Department, has nearly five years as the program manager for the Oklahoma School Security Institute through the Office of Homeland Security. 

Interim Superintendent Charles Bradley is thrilled with the board’s decision. 

“Many members of leadership with Mustang Schools have had the privilege of working with Jennifer. She has been a voice of expertise for our district for several years,” Bradley said. “Her background and connections are going to take Mustang to the next level in providing safe, secure environments for our students.” Newell has been a trainer statewide for developing emergency operations plans for K-12 schools, managing risk at athletics and after school activities, crisis team training with the Oklahoma State Department of Education, school response to an armed assailant, bus operator safety and more. She’s conducted 52 risk and vulnerability assessments at public and private schools as well as technology centers. Her training has also included how to prevent crime through environmental design.       

Mustang JROTC Students were among 200 Army Junior ROTC cadets from 19 high schools across Oklahoma and Lubbock, Texas to participate in the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge (JCLC) June 4-9 at Ft. Sill in Lawton. Cadets participated in athletic competitions, team-work activities, negotiated a combat obstacle course, made their way through a land navigation course and rappelled down a 40-foot tower. Cadets also competed in a marching drill and Academic and Leadership board.    

Chris Tobler was recently named the new director of human resources for Mustang Public Schools. Tobler spent one year as an assistant athletic director for MPS and four years as the assistant principal at Horizon Intermediate. 

Tobler began his career in Texas as a middle school English and social studies teacher, with high school and middle school coaching responsibilities. He spent time as an administrator in Plano before becoming a middle school assistant principal in Edmond. 

He’s beginning his 16th year in education. 

“Time flies when you love what you do,” Tobler said. “I have always been drawn to the sense of community within a school system. I love seeing kids succeed and feel a sense of duty to help and support our brave staff as they positively impact the lives of students each day.” 

Tobler has also stepped into a political advocacy role for MPS. He organized two political forums to provide an opportunity for teachers and patrons to hear from candidates for House seats 47 and 43. He said being on the front lines of the democratic process, advocating for teachers and students, has been rewarding. 

He believes the role of director of human resources is another way to fight for teachers and public education.  

“I see the director of human resources position as a critical role for our district because of the current climate of education in our state,” he said. “We must find the best teachers and we must keep them, and that is as difficult as it has ever been. I feel the best recruiting tool we have is to simply ‘tell our story.’ We live in an amazing community, literally one of the top 100 places to live in America. If we tell the story of Mustang we will continue to attract great families and we will have talented professionals to teach the children of those families. I'm on a mission to find effective teachers and I will use every resource, especially the power of both technology and human interaction, to provide the best for our children.”