Photo by Sam Yu Being ready for the unthinkable is part of the job for school resource officers from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. The officers participated in training at Linganore High School at Oakdale on Wednesday simulating a shooter loose in the school. Here, officers look for the shooter in a hallway using a three-man contact team. From the left are Deputy First Class Ted Mostoller, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and Deputy First Class Rick Matthews.

Ten school resource officers moved into their offices at the nine county high schools and Heather Ridge School, said Sgt. Mark Landahl, who supervises the unit for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office. The officers worked on patrol during the summer months.

One of the primary responsibilities of the school resource officers is to assist administrators in dealing with disruptive behavior, emergencies and investigations, said Marita Loose, spokeswoman for Frederick County Public Schools. They also serve as positive role models in the school community.

"They come to know the students and can often be heard reinforcing the importance of education," she said. "Their very presence in a building demonstrates that FCPS is serious about maintaining a safe place for learning to take place."

Being proactive and preventing crimes are among the officers' goals, Landahl said. They also teach a lesson during the school year about search and seizure in the schools' government classes and take their "DUI Gator" vehicle to educate students about the dangers of drinking and driving.

The officers "are part of that school's community," he said.

Besides moving into and getting familiar with the schools, the officers participated in a training exercise Wednesday at Linganore High School at Oakdale.

They reviewed situations where there were active shooters in a building such as in the Columbine High School, Virginia Tech and the Russian Beslan School massacres. They participated in an active simulation with a sheriff's office intern portraying an active shooter.

The simulation gives the officers the chance to prepare mentally and know how they would respond to a situation like it, Landahl said.

Landahl was a teacher at Windsor Knolls Middle School before joining the sheriff's office in 2001. He also worked as a school resource officer at Urbana High School.

"I enjoy working with the kids," he said.

While on patrol, the officers deal with some juvenile complaints and crimes, Landahl said. Many of the officers enjoy being in the schools because of the positive interaction with the kids.

"If they enjoy kids," he said, "they enjoy this."