"People should be safe at school, instead of being worried about being shot, or getting beat up for gang-related situations that have nothing to do with school," says Guilford High School Junior Jessica Lamb.

Lamb is tired of being distracted from her schoolwork because of bad behavior from other students.

"I've seen someone with a gun at lunch," says Lamb.

Incidents like that have Lamb and others on edge, especially after a Guilford freshman and former Auburn student were murdered at a party over the weekend. District 205 leaders beefed-up police presence in the schools this week to prevent any gang retaliations.

But Lamb and her friends in the nFACTOR action team think there should be more security all year long. That message brought the students to superintendent LaVonne Sheffield's office. They wrote letters to Dr. Sheffield, as well as Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey expressing their concerns about school security.

"Because they need to know. They don't know, they're not students, they don't walk through those halls every day. We do. We have to see fights and see people make stupid mistakes every day," says Lamb.

The girls are launching a campaign called "SOS: Save Our Schools." They're circulating petitions and pushing for metal detectors and more security officers.

There are nine Rockford police permanently stationed in schools. But Dr. Sheffield recently chose to pull additional part-time officers out and they'll now be redeployed on an as-needed basis.

Sheffield says it's a top priority to keep violence on the streets from spilling into the schools.

"We do have some rambunctious kids. Kids tend to settle differences through fighting. Our society has taught them that. We're trying to unteach that," says Dr. Sheffield.

She believes it will take students, working with district and city leaders to break the pattern of violence.

The students are scheduled to meet again with Dr. Sheffield soon and she'll be circulating climate surveys throughout the district to find out how many students feel unsafe. As far as weapons in school, Sheffield says that happens, but she believes students usually report seeing them and they're removed swiftly.

Dr. Sheffield is also planning to meet with the Harlem schools superintendent to brainstorm security changes. Sheffield adds there have been no incidents in the schools since this weekend's shooting.