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Rockdale Co. deputies, teachers prepared for school year to begin today

CONYERS, Ga. — Thousands of students are heading back to school this morning in one metro Atlanta county.

Rockdale County is the first in the area to return from summer break.

School leaders tell Channel 2 Action News safety is their number one priority. The sherriff's office spent several days over the summer training for an active shooter situation.

The training forces deputies to move past the injured.

"When it comes to having people screaming at you, reaching out for you, hollering for help, wanting you to save them and having to actually muster up to walk past them and keep on moving toward a threat, it is one of the biggest deals. A lot of people have issues of pushing past," Sgt. Jake Coggins of the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies say lessons learned during training can save lives later, including their own.

"You call for support, to you hold off. You do not enter a room, one person by their self. We go in together. We come out together," Coggins said.

Teachers also spent time preparing this summer for classes to resume.

Classrooms at Honey Creek Elementary School in Conyers are now equipped with iPad stations, with five per classroom. Fourth and fifth grade students will have their own iPads.

Students are also lured to Honey Creek by the STEM program, which emphasizes hands-on learning involving science, technology, engineering and math.