School districts across San Antonio increased security, tightened rules about what students could bring to campus and sent anguished notes to teachers, principals, and parents about how to react to a horrific situation happening 85 miles away.
An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde before noon on Tuesday, and starting that evening San Antonio schools were fielding questions from worried parents.
Students arriving onto campus Wednesday saw more police officers than normal and were advised to reach out to counselors if they needed to talk to someone.
Some districts sent counselors to Uvalde to help students directly impacted by the tragedy.
On ExpressNews.com: How to help Robb Elementary School shooting victims and families
“Over the years, I have written far too many letters like this,” Sarah Baray, the CEO of Pre-K 4 SA, said in an email to parents Wednesday morning. “There is no way to make sense of the devastating tragedy and loss that occurred in Uvalde, Texas yesterday. Our hearts are heavy as we think about the children and families of Uvalde.”
Principals at many school districts were instructed to review their safety plans, including lockdown drills and the channels set up to report any threats of violence. Virtually all of them have spent a decade improving school safety policies and practices.
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People leave the Uvalde Civic Center after students from Robb Elementary School were evacuated there following a school shooting where at least 14 children and 1 teacher were killed.
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A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center. At least 14 students and 1 teacher were killed when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
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A girl cries, comforted by two adults, outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center. At least 14 students and 1 teacher were killed when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
William LutherShow MoreShow Less5of54UVALDE, TX – MAY 25: In this aerial view, law enforcement works on scene at Robb Elementary School where at least 21 people were killed yesterday, including 19 children, on May 25, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The shooter, identified as 18 year old Salvador Ramos, was reportedly killed by law enforcement.Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty ImagesShow MoreShow Less6of54
People arrive at Uvalde Memorial Hospital following a deadly mass shooting at nearby Robb Elementary School.
Billy Calzada/San Antonio Express-NewsShow MoreShow Less7of54Flowers are left at the base of a monument outside the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2022. Harrowing details began to emerge Wednesday of the massacre inside a Texas elementary school, as anguished families learned whether their children were among those killed by an 18-year-old gunman?•s rampage in the city of Uvalde hours earlier. (Kaylee Greenlee/The New York Times)KAYLEE GREENLEE/NYTShow MoreShow Less8of54UVALDE, TX – MAY 24: Members of the community gather at the City of Uvalde Town Square for a prayer vigil in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. According to reports, 19 students and 2 adults were killed before the gunman was fatally shot by law enforcement. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty ImagesShow MoreShow Less9of54Mireyah Chavez, 10, center, a student at Robb Elementary School who was present during the shooting, is comforted during a prayer vigil at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday night, May 24, 2022. Harrowing details began to emerge Wednesday of the massacre inside a Texas elementary school, as anguished families learned whether their children were among those killed by an 18-year-old gunman?•s rampage in the city of Uvalde hours earlier. (Christopher Lee/The New York Times)CHRISTOPHER LEE/NYTShow MoreShow Less10of54
People pray and comfort one another during a vigil for the 18 children and three adults that died at a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
Billy Calzada, UVALDE SHOOTING 0524 bc 07 / San Antonio Express-NewsShow MoreShow Less11of54UVALDE, TX – MAY 24: Members of the community gather at the City of Uvalde Town Square for a prayer vigil in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. According to reports, 19 students and 2 adults were killed before the gunman was fatally shot by law enforcement.Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty ImagesShow MoreShow Less12of54UVALDE, TX – MAY 24: People become emotional at the City of Uvalde Town Square during a prayer vigil in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. According to reports, 19 students and 2 adults were killed before the gunman was fatally shot by law enforcement.Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty ImagesShow MoreShow Less13of54
Janish Patel lowers the flag to half staff Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at his Uvalde hotel hours after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and killed at least 18 children and three adults.
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Kladys Castellón prays during a vigil for the 18 children and three adults that died at a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
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A law enforcement officer tells people that Uvalde High School is secure after a school shooting at the nearby Robb Elementary School.
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A sheriff checks his phone as he sits on the sidewalk with two women outside Robb Elementary School as state troopers monitor the area in Uvalde, Texas, May 24, 2022. – An 18-year-old gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, according to the state’s governor, in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in years. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A law enforcement officer tells people that Uvalde High School is secure after a school shooting at the nearby Robb Elementary School.
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A woman cries and hugs a young girl while on the phone outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A state trooper walks Tuesday, May 24, 2022 past the Robb Elementary School sign in Uvalde, Texas the day a gunman entered the school and killed at least 18 children and three adults.
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Equipment from the San Antonio Fire Department is seen Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde after a gunman entered the school and killed at least 18 children and three adults.
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A family comforts one another as they leave Uvalde Memorial Hospital.
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Parents waited at the Willie de Leon CivicCenter to pick up their children.
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Law enforcement officials work at Uvalde High School after a shooting was reported earlier in the day at nearby Robb Elementary School.
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A woman and a child leave the Uvalde Civic Center after students from Robb Elementary School were evacuated there following a school shooting where at least 14 children and 1 teacher were killed.
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People pray Tuesday evening, May 24, 2022 at Sacred Heart Church in Uvalde after a gunman earlier in the day entered Robb Elementary School and killed at least 18 children and three adults.
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People arrive at Uvalde Memorial Hospital following a deadly mass shooting at nearby Robb Elementary School.
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Two women hug outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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UVALDE, TX – MAY 24: Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School where 19 people, including 18 children, were killed on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The suspected gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was reportedly killed by law enforcement. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)
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A State trooper stands seen outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – An 18-year-old gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, according to the state’s governor, in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in years. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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People stand in the Robb Elementary School neighborhood in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A girl cries outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A woman and a young girl walk to the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Families gather and hug outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Families gather and hug outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A woman cries and hugs a young girl while on the phone outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Families hug outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A girl cries, comforted by two adults, outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A welcome sign is seen outside of Robb Elementary School as people walk away in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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State troopers stand outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – An 18-year-old gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, according to the state’s governor, in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in years. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Friends and families gather in mourning outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Families hug outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Friends and families gather in mourning outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center where grief counseling will be offered in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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UVALDE, TX – MAY 24: Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School where 19 people, including 18 children, were killed on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The suspected gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was reportedly killed by law enforcement. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 24: A U.S. Secret Service officer lowers the American flag to half staff over the White House following the recent mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on May 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. Fifteen people are dead – including 14 children and one teacher – in the massacre at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to published reports. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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UVALDE, TX – MAY 24: Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School where 19 people, including 18 children, were killed on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The suspected gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was reportedly killed by law enforcement. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)
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UVALDE, TX – MAY 24: Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School where 19 people, including 18 children, were killed on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The suspected gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was reportedly killed by law enforcement. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)
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Law enforcement officers speak to a man outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years. The attack in Uvalde, Texas — a small community about an hour from the Mexican border — is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 24: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on May 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. Eighteen people are dead after a gunman today opened fire at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to published reports. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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DALLAS, TEXAS – MAY 24: Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors stands for a moment of silence for the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX prior to in Game Four of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on May 24, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
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People sit on the curb outside of Robb Elementary School as State troopers guard the area in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – An 18-year-old gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, according to the state’s governor, in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in years. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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Sheriff crime scene tape is seen outside of Robb Elementary School as State troopers guard the area in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – An 18-year-old gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, according to the state’s governor, in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in years. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A welcome sign is seen outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – An 18-year-old gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, according to the state’s governor, in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in years. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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A state trooper sets up barricades outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. – An 18-year-old gunman killed 14 children and a teacher at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, according to the state’s governor, in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in years. (Photo by allison dinner / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images)
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An EMS vehicle is seen at the Willie de Leon Civic Center on May 24, 2022.
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“It is not like we are changing anything in these next few days,” said Barry Perez, the spokesperson at Northside Independent School District. “We have established protocols and procedures in place that are effective and good. Events like yesterday serve as reminders that we have to be vigilant and we can never let our guard down.”
Earl Rudder Middle School Principal Paul Ramirez was finishing up his weekly newsletter on Wednesday and added a recap of Northside ISD’s ongoing safety precautions. Among the reminders for the end of the school year: no backpacks are allowed during the last week of classes.
“As a principal of a campus I have a lot of feelings, but I also have to be the leader of the campus and make sure my teachers, and my kids, and my families, and everybody understand that we are all in this together,” Ramirez said. “Their anxiety levels rise, and they worry about what’s going to happen.”
In the decade since the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting in December, 2012, area schools have added bullet resistant entrances, digital video surveillance systems, lockdown drills, locked perimeter fencing, tougher classroom door hardware and more police officers.
“We have safety procedures and safety protocols that we follow every single day,” said Aubrey Chancellor, spokesperson for North East ISD. “Unfortunately, when you have a tragedy like this, and especially so close to home, it is just a stark reminder that we need to be reviewing those safety protocols on a regular basis and really know what to do when an event such as that occurs.”
Physical safety wasn’t the only concern.
“No doubt people are scared,” Perez said. “Situations like yesterday bring it all to the forefront. We also want to be mindful … of the emotional safety of kids.”
Patti Salzmann, the deputy superintendent of San Antonio ISD, said that besides safety precautions, “there is no substitute for building strong relationships with our students, families, and staff.”
More on the Robb Elementary school shooting
At Maverick Elementary School in SAISD, a “Career on Wheels” festival was partly why students were able to cope with the jarring reality of Uvalde hanging over them Wednesday morning, said counselor Jeanette Zuniga. The parking lot was full of music, games and inspirational talks from community leaders.
“We were thinking of canceling the event but even the superintendent said go ahead, and keep doing whatever you’re doing because we don’t want the kids to come to school afraid,” Zuniga said. “I know that they did, some of them were afraid, some parents were concerned. But they knew that here at Maverick we will keep them safe.”
On ExpressNews.com: How to talk to your kids about the Uvalde school shooting
Annette Anderson, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Health Schools, advocates for better mental health remediation and more resources to attend more deeply to students who show signs of stress or violence.
Kids need more counselors and social workers who can listen to them — but increasing police presence on school campuses is not going to help them, she said.
Statistically, schools with more police have higher rates of suspensions or arrests of students of color, and it “doesn’t make kids feel safer,” Anderson said. “If anything it is more traumatizing for young people.”
But the guidance sent to principals at many school districts advised them to make their presence felt, and that of their police, to families dropping off their kids in the morning.
“We made sure the East Central Police Department was visible today,” said Brandon Oliver, the East Central ISD spokesman. “All campuses have an officer assigned to it, but with yesterday on everyone’s minds we just thought, out of an abundance of caution, we would make them even more visible today.”
More effort needs to be placed on identifying, reporting and acting on any concerning behavior by students before a threat is even made, said Kathy Martinez-Prather, the director at Texas State University’s School Safety Center.
“That is a common theme we have seen through a lot of these shootings throughout the decades,” she said. “There was someone who knew something, there was someone who had a concern or didn’t report it because they didn’t think it was that big of a deal or they thought someone (else) would report it.”