WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — In the aftermath of the Uvalde school shooting, leaders in northwest Ohio want to make sure kids here are safe.
"It's going to take hard work and it's going to take investing in our educators, and investing in preparedness," Amanda Klinger, director of operations for Educator's School Safety Network, said.
Klinger's organization offers safety training and resources for teachers. It has also been involved in evaluating potential security issues for at least one local school.
Some schools have looked at whether a single entrance would be safer against gun threats. Klinger says it's a good idea, but it wouldn't eliminate the chance of a shooting.
"Moving to a single point of entry is a really good idea for schools, and it's pretty commonplace," Klinger said. "It's a pretty common practice for schools, but I think it's false to say that would magically solve our problems in terms of shootings and violence happening in schools."
Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn's office is trained for active shooter threats. But he says each one is different, making it harder to anticipate any exact scenario.
"No two situations are the same. So it's not like you're trained for a specific occurrence. You just look at the different schools and say 'what are the possible threats? What are the scenarios you're going to have?' and we train toward those," Wasylyshyn said.
The sheriff says full-time deputies are assigned to several of the school districts in Wood County, including Eastwood, Elmwood and Otsego. Some pay to have additional officers during certain hours.
He says some area districts are considering arming teachers as well and says ultimately it's the school boards' decision.
"I support whatever that school district decides. If they want to arm their teachers, especially if we do the training, I'm all for that," Wasylyshyn said. "If a district says no we don't want our teachers or school employees carrying guns, I respect that also."
If you'd like to learn more about the work Educator's School Safety Network does, click here for its website.