Keeping kids safe and building relationships: That's the goal of a new partnership between the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office and seven school districts in the county. 

Here's how it will work: Each district gets its own deputy. That deputy splits time across the district's elementary, middle and high schools. 

The sheriff's office says it's receiving lots of concerned calls after recent school shootings across the country. It hopes this program will curb some of those concerns.  

The hope is also that a consistent deputy will build stronger relationships with students by opening the pathways of communication.

"We want to make sure we’re not making our school systems prisons, and by not doing that, by having this SRO in the school being a friendly face to the students," said Sheriff's Deputy Kenneth D. Cooper Jr. "You know, we’re like a counselor, like a teacher."

Ballston Spa, Burnt Hills, Mechanicville, Schuylerville, Shen, Stillwater and South Glens Falls are participating.