PITTSBURG, KS.--- For math teacher Diane Jackson, supporting her students at George Nettles Elementary means the world.
"To make them them feel when they walk into this building that they will be protected no matter what," states Diane Jackson, Teacher.
After Friday's deadly school shooting in Connecticut, extra safety precautions are a top priority for the Pittsburg School District.
"Our kids need to be safe and need to feel safe while they're at school and whatever we can do to make them feel that way is our responsibility," states Destry Brown, USD 250 Superintendent.
Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton felt it was his duty to help schools across Crawford County. So, he proposed a plan.
"Placing a uniformed officer in each of our school buildings," states Sandy Horton, Crawford County Sheriff.
Superintendents at all schools agreed it could only help the situation.
"Ease their mind a little bit that we're doing everything we can to make our schools as safe as possible," states Brown.
A total of 15 city police officers as well as county deputies now patrol 15 schools, including George Nettles.
"I think the presence of the law enforcement officer is a great thing. It makes me feel safe too, knowing that there's one more step that's been put in place," states Jackson.
The officers will walk up and down hallways for only this week but their work doesn't stop there.
"We're going to take advantage of all these different eyes of law enforcement to just look around and take notes," states Brown.
The 15 officers are in charge of surveying the building and reviewing what can be done to upgrade security at all campuses.
"I'm not saying you can ever prevent what's happened but we need time to respond to things like this and anything we can do structural wise to our buildings or training wise to buy us some time to be able to respond and get to a crisis, that's the key that we're looking for," states Sheriff Horton.
Of course, a horrible situation like the one in Connecticut isn't 100% preventable, but Sheriff Horton just wants to have as many safety measures in place. During Christmas break, Sheriff Horton will meet again with all the police chiefs to brainstorm how they can permanently upgrade security.
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