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'We would die with those students' | Southeast Texas teachers react to deadly Uvalde school mass shooting

In response to these tragedies, active shooter drills are becoming more common for students and teachers.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — Southeast Texas teachers are reacting and sharing how they felt that day when the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas unfolded.

Some teachers feel the need to prepare themselves for an active shooter on their own campus.

"Like if something were to happen, we would die with those students," said Eleanor Skelton who teaches at Memorial Ninth Grade Academy.

Something evil, something like the mass shooting in Uvalde that took the innocent lives of 19 students and two teachers. 

For Westbrook High School teacher Kate Johnson, it was a wake-up call. She made a pledge to protect her students.

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“You take an oath as a teacher to not only teach these kids, and care for them,” Johnson said. “I mean you're their caregiver for eight hours of the day. That's a lot of time. So I think you take kind of an oath to not only teach theme and impart some wisdom, and knowledge on them but protect them as well.”

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It's an oath that runs true for Skelton, too. She has ties to Colorado and has felt rocked by these mass shootings that are happening across the nation.

“I am very familiar with the mass shootings that took place in Colorado, and they are very upsetting to me,” Skelton said. “And I do feel it personally. And I always feel like why are we doing this again? Why is this happening again?”

Skelton said she and her sister are both first-year teachers who are too familiar with active shooter situations. 

"She does 5th grade at a school in Colorado," Skelton said. "My sister actually had an active shooter situation at her school this last fall and we talked about it after it happened. Someone ran onto her school’s campus with a gun and police were able to get him before anyone was harmed but it was real, not just a lockdown drill."

In response to these tragedies, active shooter drills are common for students and teachers.

“I have talked to my students though, just about what we would kind of do you know okay, let's hide in the closet,” Johnson said. "Let's keep our voices down. Let's cover the door.”

Skelton said this past fall was the first active shooter drill as a professional educator but she was previously exposed to training against active shooters.

"I was in a club in college called the FAST club that trained college freshmen, where former military college students would teach civilians tactics they used in combat to hide, defend yourself against active shooters," Skelton said.

Drills are taken extremely seriously. While many educators feel it's not enough, Skelton said she feels her school district's security is doing a great job.

"The students walk through a metal detector, have their temperature checked, and then security checks their mesh and clear backpacks when they come into school every day. Sometimes my students don’t like it," Skelton said. "And that’s just unfortunately what we all have to do so that we can all be safe."

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The Texas State Teachers Association and the National Education Association released a joint statement earlier this week.

Those statements said in part that both educational organizations are demanding that state and federal leaders take action to prevent another school shooting from happening.

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