After nearly a decade in law enforcement, Dustin Gehring found himself at a crossroads. “At the time, I was married, we had kids growing up and the long hours were not congruent with having a family,” he recalled. The demanding nature of the job began to clash with his personal life, prompting a pivotal decision to make a career change.
That nudge led him to rediscover a long-held aspiration in education and his current role as school safety and security coordinator for the Roaring Fork School District.
Gehring, who is from Marengo, Iowa, earned an associate degree from Kirkwood Community College and served with the Marengo Police Department.
In 2017, he earned a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Northern Iowa as a nontraditional student, commuting 120 miles daily. Of the experience of being a student in his thirties, he said, “It’s culture shock when you’re sitting in a room with 18-year-olds.”
In 2020, he joined the Iowa City Community School District, where he developed and implemented a threat assessment program for its 14,000 students. The position was funded by a grant. “They needed a program started and things of that nature, so they brought me in,” he explained. He thrived in this role for a few years until the grant money dried up.
Once again, Gehring found himself at a professional crossroads. He secured a contract position with Tetra Tech, a company working with Iowa on on-site safety assessments for the state’s school buildings. His background in law enforcement and experience with behavioral threat assessments proved invaluable. Still, as the contract neared its end, he felt the familiar urge to reset and find a new direction. “I’ve always wanted to be in education and wanted to stick with the safety aspect of things.”
That is when his search for the perfect role led him beyond Iowa. With his children now grown and fewer ties keeping him in the state, Gehring began looking at opportunities across the country, which led him to his current position.
His current role as school safety and security coordinator for the Roaring Fork School District is a new position he began last school year. “It’s a concentration on safety and having somebody to focus on that full time.” He notes that many school districts may assign different safety components to several staff members. “In a public school system … it can be difficult to coordinate all that. My role centralizes this one person doing this one thing, concentrating on it all the time, giving it the attention it deserves.”
Upon his arrival, Gehring was impressed with the foundation already in place. “I was impressed with the baseline. I’ve been going through many things, and I see where this can be more efficient or where we can improve. But the team had already put together a great base. Now that I’ve come, I can bring it all together and make it as efficient and comprehensive as possible for the district.”
Gehring’s experience in law enforcement and education makes him uniquely qualified. “When I was in law enforcement, I was blessed that I got to do a lot of things — from general patrol to investigations, but part of that was also community outreach,” he explained. The connection with students and schools during his law enforcement days sparked a passion for working with young people. “I loved teaching, coaching and being a mentor.”
His work now encompasses a range of safety-related responsibilities, from crisis response plans to mental health partnerships. “We drill all this stuff all the time — evacuation, lockdown, secure,” he said, emphasizing the importance of preparation. “We want to drill so we’re prepared as best we can be, and hopefully, by doing drills, we build muscle memory.”
Looking ahead, Gehring remains committed to continuously improving school safety. “We’re always looking at everything all the time,” he said, acknowledging that safety practices continuously evolve. He concluded, “It’s a fine line. I never want to get into a place where our schools feel like institutions. I want it to be as close to free learning as we possibly can be while being as safe as we possibly can be.”