by Amanda Hara
PLEASANT VIEW, Tenn. - New faces are walking the halls of Cheatham County schools. The district has hired three school resource officers. Each one is in charge of patrolling a high school, a middle school, and two elementary schools.
Officer Chris Gilmore walked through the front doors of Sycamore High school, hoping he'd make a difference.
Gilmore is one of three School Resource Officers just hired in Cheatham County.
"We'd never had them in Cheatham County. We've had some issues around drugs, fights, and we believe the SRO is a critical component of the adult intervention in the lives of children," said Superintendent Tim Webb.
Just days into the job, Gilmore said it's clear that SRO's are needed.
"We've had children skipping, we've had tobacco incidents we actually had a fight this morning,'' he said.
Gilmore has a straightforward strategy to curb these problems. He said it starts with building trust with students, becoming their friend, and eventually their guide.
"I think children are our future if we can affect the lives of children then we can change some of the problems we encounter on the road," said Gilmore.
Although it's only been less than two weeks, Officer Gilmore leaves Sycamore High school each day, knowing he's left a mark.
"I can walk down the hall and they speak, it's like , 'Hey that's Officer Gilmore'. That's the difference I can see in a week and it will be amazing to see the difference in a year," said Officer Gilmore.
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