Jones Co. Sheriff’s Dept. dances away the morning blues with students

JONES COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) - School drop-offs are a bit different at Jones County elementary schools.

As parents drop off their children, they’re greeted with smiles and a bit of dancing by teachers and the Jones County Sheriff’s Department.

“It’s just a good vibe to start your day, especially in the morning when kids don’t really want to wake up and get going,” parent Jason Beach said. “It’s really awesome, awesome vibe.”

“We appreciate these guys and what they do for us each and every morning as they come out,” Supervising Principal of Moselle Elementary School Mark Brown said. “It helps our campus feel safe and takes care of the things that are the most important in our community and that’s our children.”

“The kids love coming through, hearing the music, watching them dance,” Inclusion teacher at Moselle Elementary Ashlee Smith said.

This year, there’s at least one deputy at each of the elementary schools in Jones County helping during drop-off. At Moselle Elementary, it’s Chief Deputy Mitch Sumrall.

“It’s literally the best part of my day,” Sumrall said. “It gives the deputies, especially the ones that stay in the office most of the time like me, a chance to get out and interact with people, especially with the kids.”

“I want the kids to have a familiar face to look at, and it just brightens their day,” Sheriff Joe Berlin said.

Berlin makes his rounds at each of the schools during the week. If you happen to see him, you’ll definitely catch him dancing!

“I would prefer that he dance at another school, but he’s the sheriff, he can do what he wants to,” Sumrall said.

“Joe doesn’t have quite the rhythm that the rest of us have, but we’re trying to work with him,” Smith said.

So, what does Berlin have to say about his dance moves?

“I’m not a natural-born dancer,” Berlin said. “I come to these schools just to enlighten the kids, you know, get out, have fun with them, and if they play the music that I like to move to, then I’m just going to move to it.”

Deputies were only scheduled to help during the first two weeks of school, but Berlin said they’ll continue helping until the schools kick them out.

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