On Jan. 29, 2026, Officer Issac Gray became one of the newest staff members here at Woodward. He is a part of the Campus Patrol Team for the Main Campus, and students may see him keeping an eye on the Upper School, the Middle School and the Lower School. If necessary, he might even patrol the Primary School. Given Officer Gray’s history in law enforcement, Assistant Director of Security Officer Brian Ferguson said that the new team member was an amazing option for Woodward Academy’s Campus Patrol Team.
Officer Gray came from his position as a Certified Police Officer who was assigned to patrol at the East Point Police Department (EPPD). His transition from EPPD to Woodward was nerve wracking for him, as he didn’t know what to expect.
“I didn’t know how the adjustment would work out, you know?” Officer Gray said. “Coming from actively running after people – policing–to chilling and enjoying the Woodward vibe was scary for me, but it turned out very well.”
EPPD and Woodward aren’t just different in vibes, but they also deal with different cases. In EPPD, Officer Gray was dealing with criminals and big crimes around Atlanta, but, with Woodward, he deals with the safety of students on campus.
“It’s a different pace dealing with children versus dealing with grown people… but my adjustment is going well,” Officer Gray said.
Learning all the different building names for each school was a challenge as well. As previously stated, Officer Gray patrols three different schools for Woodward, each of which has its collection of buildings with names rooted in Woodward history. All told, that’s a lot of names Officer Gray had to learn.
“I always get confused with the name of the schools due to the grade level,” Officer Gray said. “However, over time I have been able to learn the campus.”
But even though the transition to Woodward has been a little hard, the work Officer Gray has to do around campus is not new to him. He’s worked in a school setting prior to Woodward, so once he got accustomed to his new geography, the setting felt comfortable for him.
“It wasn’t that hard learning what I needed to do because, like, I have worked in school settings before,” Officer Gray said. “Learning the tasks wasn’t very challenging.”
Plus, Officer Gray quickly found the right people to support him. After all, everyone needs a little help trying to get situated in a new place.
“I would say the person who’s been the biggest help is the Middle School principal [Jessica Parsons],” Officer Gray said. “She spoke at the orientation and when she spoke, what she said really stuck with me and convinced me Woodward is a good place to work.”
Officer Gray loves the Woodward environment as a whole and came here for the students. He considers himself a true War Eagle at this point and loves the spirit Woodward has. He enjoys watching kids blossom from small and shy to optimistic and gregarious. He’s excited to see what the youngest generation has in store for the future.
“My favorite thing is probably the students,” Officer Gray said. “They’re just so energetic, and I’m so excited to see the growth from starting in Primary to Upper School, and I know I’ll love seeing that growth. It’s always about the students for me. I think it’s just the joy of seeing graduations and things of that sort. I’m excited to watch our future grow.”
