Tequesta's 'Operation Safe Start' program aims to keep children safe as new school year begins

TEQUESTA, Fla. — Classes are back in session, and that means drivers are once again sharing the road with school buses.

So, police agencies throughout our area are taking added steps to keep everyone safe.

WATCH BELOW: Tequesta police program helping ensure safe start to school year

We asked a group of Tequesta mothers Tuesday morning if they were ready to send their kids back to school. An emphatic "yes" was the reply.

In Tequesta, that means most families have to get their kids to the bus stop since there are no public schools in the village.

"Everybody who goes to public school, you're being driven by a parent, or you're being driven by a school bus," Tequesta police Sgt. Emir Yildiz said.

Tequesta police officers are greeting children and parents at bus stops as part of the department's annual "Operation Safe Start."

Officers are also keeping an eye on drivers to ensure school bus and traffic laws are followed.

"I can make that difference here, and it's important we keep these kids safe," Yildiz said.

He told us it was this type of program that attracted him to the department.

"It helps us slow drivers down, it helps us remind drivers not to go around school buses," Yildiz said.

For the past 15 years, the department has used this as an opportunity for officers to get to know the community they serve, and for the kids to develop positive relationships with the officers.

It's something that parents said they like to see.

"We enjoy it. It's definitely a tradition," parent Elyse Clancy said.

"It's really cool to see the intimacy and how these guys can really get things done," parent Christo Greyling said.

Tequesta residents can expect to see this added police presence both in the morning and afternoon for the rest of this school week.