PPS safety chief earns top industry honors – News – Journal Star

PEORIA — A national education magazine named the head of Peoria Public’s Schools’ safety division as one of the top campus safety officers of the year.

Campus Safety magazine said Demario Boone, PPS’s safety chief, was the 2020 Campus Safety Director of the Year in the K-12 division. He is sharing the award with Guy Grace, the director of security and emergency planning at Littleton, Colo., Public Schools.

Earlier this year, Boone, who heads up the district’s school resource officers, was named as a finalist by the magazine. The awards were to be given at the groups’ convention but the COVID-19 pandemic made the ceremony virtual.

Among the achievements Boone was honored for were:

* that he funded the Peoria Public Schools Gang Intervention Unit, helping to solve crime in the area and decrease student gang involvement.

* created an online report system, moving the department from a written report system. It tracks data and assists with the social and emotional needs of students.

* and started an awards program for the department to recognize officers and boost moral.