As a new academic year begins, school safety remains a pressing concern nationwide. The Rye City School District is showing it doesn’t take potential threats lightly.
On Tuesday, the district named Erik Green, a former NYPD detective, its new director of security, safety, and emergency preparedness.
Green comes to Rye after retiring from a 20-year police career. During his tenure in New York City, he specialized in crowd control operations, active threat response and tactical training, with a focus on risk mitigation, threat assessment and maintaining the safety of the communities he served.
Green said what stood out to him about Rye is a strong commitment to education and student well-being, along with the district’s close-knit community and proactive leadership.
“School security is most effective when it becomes part of the culture of the community,” he said. “My goal is for the security staff to be a welcoming presence to our students and faculty.”
Green replaces John Hawkins, who held the role since 2019. In preparation for the school year, which begins Sept. 8, Green said he aims to strengthen partnerships and operational coordination with Rye’s police department, fire department, and EMS.
His priorities also include ensuring standardized emergency drills and clear accountability systems across the district, as well as establishing consistent operational routines for security staff in each school.
While Green has decades of experience as an NYPD detective, he wants students to view him as helpful, rather than intimidating. As a father of three children in grades K-12 and the husband of a teacher, Green believes school safety is a community effort built on trust, visibility, communication, and strong relationships.
Green said being an approachable security presence is an important part of creating an environment where students and staff feel both safe and supported.
“True safety is proactive and relies on open communication and strong community partnerships,” Green said. “The ultimate goal is to create a secure environment where learning can remain the primary focus.”
