A Grief-Stricken Community Prepares to Send its Children Back to School

By Evan L’Roy, The Texas Tribune

Sept. 6, 2022

When students return to school in Uvalde today, just 15 weeks after the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, 19 students and two teachers will not be present.

In just more than three months since the massacre, residents have sought to help children return to normalcy with familiar back-to-school rituals, tinged by grief.

In August, one family from Lockhart donated nearly 800 backpacks to students. The next day, an annual wellness fair at the Uvalde civic center included a booth with information on how to care for children and parents’ mental and physical health. Later that evening, people danced and enjoyed live music outside the town courthouse during a summer sendoff block party hosted by local businesses.

Meanwhile, families have questioned whether safety plans for the new school year are enough, and some have been forced to make hard decisions about whether or not to send their children back at all.

Parents, like Brianna Gonzales, are keeping their kids in the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Others, like Adam Martinez, whose 8-year-old son Zayon was present at Robb Elementary on the day of the shooting, will be sending their children to online classes, instead.

Students from Robb Elementary will be relocated to two other schools, and all schools in Uvalde implemented new security measures before the first day of class. Dalton Elementary added an 8-foot fence around the campus perimeter. Sacred Heart Parish School, which began classes two weeks ago, upgraded its security to include new cameras and polycarbonate bullet-resistant sheeting hidden behind colorful paper signs on outside windows.

Brianna Gonzales, like many parents who have had to reevaluate plans for the upcoming school year, ultimately decided to send both of her sons back to schools in the Uvalde district. “COVID affected them a lot, and I saw how that affected their education and I don’t want them to have to go to virtual again,” she said. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Brianna Gonzales looks at a picture of her son, Javier, 10, taken at Robb Elementary on May 24 during a school awards ceremony on Aug. 10, 2022. Javier was taken home by a family member only an hour or two before the shooting. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

Javier Gonzales, 10 and his brother Emiio, 5, play in their backyard in Uvalde in the final weeks of summer. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

First: Brianna Gonzales looks at a picture of her son, Javier, 10, taken at Robb Elementary early in the day on May 24 during a school awards ceremony. Javier was taken home by a family member just hours before that day’s shooting. Last: Javier Gonzales and his brother Emilio play in their backyard in the final weeks of summer. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Polycarbonate bullet-resistant sheeting covers the front doors of the cafeteria at Sacred Heart Parish School in Uvalde, on Aug. 14, 2022. The private school, which saw its enrollment more than double from the previous year, has implemented additional security features for the new school year. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

A taller fence was installed at Sacred Heart Parish School in Uvalde, on Aug. 14, 2022. The school is preparing for classes to begin the following day, a full month ahead of public schools in the Uvalde district. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

Principle Joseph Olan points out areas of improvement happening at Sacred Heart Parish School as they prepare for the first day of school in Uvalde on Aug. 9, 2022. Preperations include bulletproof film covering all windows, new fencing, and a more secure system for opening the main doors. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

First: A taller fence was installed at Sacred Heart Parish School in Uvalde, seen on Aug. 14, 2022. Middle: Principal Joseph Olan said that the security enhancements "”are the primary reasons why families are coming.” Last: A teacher crossed out the potentially triggering word “Lockdown” on a sign with emergency protocols and wrote a reminder for “Safety, safety, safety” beneath it. Credit: Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

Martha Buford, a contractor working with the Uvalde Together Resiliency Center, plays a song on a drum to demonstrate how children might use the room devoted to play therapy. According to Buford, counselors might gain insight into a child’s emotions by how aggressively a child plays the drums or whether they wait passively until the counselor sets a tune before joining in. Free services are provided for the community, including counseling and therapy specifically for children. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

The Uvalde Together Resiliency Center on Aug. 11, 2022. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

A pile of donated toys and games for children inside a unit at the Uvalde Together Resiliency Center on Aug. 11, 2022. Martha Buford, a contractor for The Ecumenical Center, explained that if a child is nervous about the counseling sessions, they are often allowed to pick a toy before beginning, which usually helps calm them down. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

First: The Uvalde Together Resiliency Center, currently in a temporary facility, will provide community services for about five years with state funding. Last: Donated toys sit inside a unit at the center. Buford explains that if a child is nervous about the counseling sessions, they are encouraged to pick a toy before beginning, which usually helps calm them down. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

A page outlining the seven stages of grief sits on a desk inside a counseling room at the Uvalde Together Resiliency Center on Aug. 11, 2022. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

A unit dedicated to play therapy, a method counselors use to help understand the children they meet with at the Uvalde Together Resiliency Center on Aug. 11, 2022. For example, Martha Buford explained that kids who played with the wooden house, or the makeshift kitchen, were often seeking things that were normal. They might organize the house, to restore a sense of order. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

First: A page outlining the seven stages of grief sits on a desk inside a counseling room. Last: Buford explains that kids who play with the wooden houses are often seeking things that were familiar and normal. They might organize the house to restore a sense of order. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Family members and friends of Uziyah Garcia view a freshly completed mural painted in his memory in July. Led by project creator Abel Ortiz Acosta, volunteer artists and residents worked over the summer to paint a mural for each of the 21 victims as a way to help the community heal. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Young softball players hold their helmets that display “Uvalde Strong” stickers in the main plaza in July. The team is from a neighboring town and playing a tournament to show their support for the families of the victims. Some children and young adults have turned to sports as an outlet for managing grief in the weeks following the school shooting. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Adrianna Medina, 10, trains with her service dog, Ocean, at Uvalde Memorial Park on Aug. 28, 2022. While Ocean will not be able to go to school with Medina, Adrianna is training him to accompany her on trips elsewhere, such as to the store or soccer practice. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Uvalde residents brought their families out to enjoy live music, food and dancing at an End of Summer Block Party hosted by local businesses in August. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Adam Martinez and his son, Zayon, 8, at their home in Uvalde, on Aug. 12, 2022. Zayon, who was present at Robb Elementary during the shooting, will use the online schooling option this year. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

Zayon Martinez, 8, was present at Robb Elementary during the school shooting. After voicing concerns to his family, he will not be returning to in-person classes for the upcoming school year, instead choosing to use the online schooling option. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Zayon Martinez, 8, plays pool in the same room he will most likely be attending virtual classes during the upcoming school year. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Even with the increase in police presence and security upgrades, Zayon said he still feels scared to return to school in person. Last: Zayon plays pool in the same room he will most likely be attending virtual classes for the upcoming school year. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Organizers of Uvalde’s annual wellness fair hold a raffle for children’s bicycles at the town’s civic center on Aug. 12, 2022. Families came out to participate in caricature drawing and crafts, as well as backpack and diaper distribution and receiving resources about therapy pets. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

A young girl listens for the last number to be called during a raffle at Uvalde’s annual wellness fair at the town’s civic center on Aug. 12, 2022. Community Health Development Inc. and Walmart partnered to give away more than 200 bikes at the fair. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Attendees of the 21st Annual Wellness Fair, hosted by Community Health Development Inc., explore different activities, including backpack and diaper distribution, caricature drawing, art crafts, and learn about therapy pets at the Civic Center in Uvalde, on Aug. 12, 2022. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

Children use virtual reality goggles to explore different careers and trades at the 21st Annual Wellness Fair at the Civic Center in Uvalde, on Aug. 12, 2022. The goggles, provided by the Texas Workforce Commision and Transfr, allowed the children to perform tasks in a course aligned with a specific career choice, including options such as a robotics specialist, paint shop specialist, first responder, hotel front desk, electrician, machinist, among others. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

Attendees of the 21st Annual Wellness Fair, hosted by Community Health Development Inc., explore different activities, including backpack and diaper distribution, caricature drawing, art crafts, and learn about therapy pets at the Civic Center in Uvalde, on Aug. 12, 2022. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

First: Caricature artists draw children at a booth during the annual wellness event. Middle: Children use virtual reality goggles to explore tasks aligned with a specific career choice, with options like a robotics specialist, paint shop specialist, first responder and hotel front desk worker, among others. Last: A member of the Texas Workforce Commission demonstrates to a student how to use a laptop and other tools for home learning. Credit: Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

Educational handouts instructing children to call 911 in response to emergencies were provided at a booth at the wellness event. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Children pick out stuffed animals from a donation box at the civic center in Uvalde on Aug. 12, 2022. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Children browse through some of the roughly 800 backpacks donated by Lockhart residents Connie and Louis Amaya outside a parking lot in Uvalde on Aug. 13, 2022. After running out of backpacks within 30 minutes at an earlier distribution, the Amayas returned to Uvalde for a second giveaway weeks before the start of school. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Roughly 100 of the 800 backpacks that the Amayas secured for the donation displayed a custom “Uvalde Strong” logo and were some of the first to be picked up by residents at the giveaway. Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune

A young girl clutches a backpack she picked out in preparation for the upcoming school year. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

---

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/06/uvalde-back-to-school/.