TIFTON — Schools are places where children go to learn, but sometimes, even younger students are the ones doing the teaching. Just ask police officer Jonathan Toledo and his coworker named Kimba.

Kimba has been a member of the local K-9 Unit. Toledo, who has been with the Tifton Police Department for two years, has been working with Kimba for about six months. She’s a German Sheppard who is trained to search for illegal substances, but also to find missing people.

Kimba and Toledo have been regularly visiting elementary schools in Tifton so she could learn to be more comfortable with crowds. And that’s something elementary students are helping Kimba overcome.

“We talked with some of our students and asked them if they had ever been nervous around lots of people or when they visited a new place,” said Stacey Beckham, Tift County Schools’ chief communications officer. “They immediately told us they had, and we even talked about their first day of school. We told them that’s exactly how Kimba felt, and she needed their help to feel better.”

The students immediately became the caregivers, talking to Kimba and petting her.

“I was excited to see Kimba because I’ve never seen a police dog before,” said Lily McKellar, a first grader in Kim Jacobs’s class at G.O. Bailey Elementary School. “I think it was cool she let us pet her, and we got to help the police officer train her so she cannot be so scared and now she can become a better police dog.”

“She is a highly-trained officer, but Kimba is still young,” said Toledo, “Having her around students is helping her to grow and get better at her job. It also helps show children that police officers are people, too, and allows us to build good relationships.”

Kimba was just the beginning of this partnership. While she is going to work in Dooly County, new dogs are joining the Tifton Police Department and will continue to visit with students.