Hundreds of area law enforcement officials and school officials met on Thursday at West Virginia University at Parkersburg to learn more about what they can do to keep local schools safe.

Donald Brown with the Parkersburg Police Department said that police officers from Kanawha and even Hancock county came to listen to the speaker.

Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman spoke to the group about the ways to protect students and faculty in the classroom.

Grossman urged the officials to no longer let students use cell phones in schools, organize more lock down procedures, and to have more police officers on duty on school campus.

"What it does is it allows our officers on the police department to get a good idea of what they need to be prepared for, and what they need to have with them so they can respond quickly and effectively to incidents that may occur in our schools," said Brown.

Grossman said he has a message for area parents, "We need the parents to understand that what that cop is doing is simply preventing the tragedy from occurring. We can get the whole community working together."

Grossman also suggested to keep all school doors locked and to have only one entry way into a school.