WELCOME HOME TO EDGEWOOD ISD, Officer Phillip Clay!! 🏠
Officer Clay will be joining Edgewood Independent School District as an Edgewood ISD Police Officer and High School Law Enforcement Teacher for the 2025-2026 school year. 🥳
We had a few minutes to sit down and talk with Officer Clay and here is what we learned about our new family member. 🥰
💜 Where did you attend college and what degrees and/or certificates do you hold? Every education story is different, mine is a long one. I worked full-time my whole life and completed college while working and raising my family. That has led me to Northeast Texas Community College, Eastfield Community College, University of Texas at Dallas, and then I graduated from Midwestern State University with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. 🎓
💜 How long have you been in education? have been a teacher for the last two years. I was offered a teaching position at Mesquite I.S.D. after working 30 years at the Mesquite Police Department. I have always admired teachers while attending school and even more so now that I have started teaching. It is an ever learning profession, just like any other type of work that we put our efforts toward. 👩🏫🍎
💜 Tell us a little bit about your previous experience. In police work I have worked in Detentions, Patrol Officer, Bicycle officer, School Resource Officer, SWAT, Investigations, Patrol Sergeant, and Investigative Sergeant. 🚓
💜 What would you like to share about your family? My wife, Keila, and I have been married for 28 years and have four grown children. We have three boys and a girl (Caleb, Seth, Levi, & Lydia). We have two grandsons and another one on the way. 🥰
💜 Would you like to share a fun fact? We recently traveled to Tokyo, Japan to see our son who is stationed in Japan (Okinawa). We learned that Tokyo is eight times as big as Houston (Our fourth largest city in America). We were shocked to see a city so large and populous with no trash, no locks on any bicycles, everyone dressed up daily, and were extremely polite. They told us that it was typical of Japan. ✈️
💜 What do you enjoy outside of work? In my younger days I played a lot of sports 🏈🏀🏃♂️🎾⚾ (Football, Basketball, Track, Tennis, and Recreational Baseball). I love working on old cars 🚗🔧 and spending time with my family 👨👩👧👦. I love building things 🛠️. I like to travel ✈️🌍 and would love to hear of your favorite place 📍. My faith is important to me ✝️ and has helped me in good times 😊 and rough days in police work 👮♂️💙.
💜 Can you tell us why you CHOSE EDGEWOOD? My wife and I both graduated from a small town (Mount Vernon High School). We love the small town feel of Edgewood. The position that was offered is a unique blend of being a Teacher and also a School Resource Officer. Serving and Protecting has been my profession for 30 years. Teaching Law Enforcement classes allows me to expose students to many engaging situations where the concept of justice is lived out in society. 💜🐾💛🐾🤍
Again, WELCOME HOME OFFICER CLAY!! We are excited to have you join us at Edgewood ISD!! 💜🏡💜
#EdgewoodByChoice