When a school day ends like it's supposed to, parents like Kathy Moore can't help but feel relieved, especially after Wednesday's mass shooting at a Florida high school.
"Sadness, fear. All the things that grip everyone," said Moore. "As the kids are more aware of other incidents happening, they realize it could actually happen at their school."
That's why Keller ISD is working to stop school violence before it happens. Its high schools started airing a video announcement featuring students and law enforcement officials in the fall, encouraging students to report any potential threats to an adult, working to prevent violence.
"Making any threats on social media can get you in serious trouble. And rumors can be just as harmful," said the PSA. "If it doesn't feel right, say something. Protect yourself and your community."
And they think it's working. The school district's director of safety and security, Kevin Kinley, said simply knowing about the threats isn't enough. He is a retired NYPD officer who helped develop a new program in the district that focuses on students reported for making threats.
In the past, they might be punished with alternative school or juvenile detention, but then return to campus and potentially fall through the cracks.
Now, a threat assessment team at each high school, consisting of a counselor, school resource officer, and assistant principal, work to make sure that student gets the help they need, including potential outside mental health help, depending on the severity of the threat.
"I think it's nice, in my other school, they didn't do anything about stuff like this, they never talked about it," said Laura Miramontes, a freshman at Keller High School, who spoke to WFAA with her mother's permission.
Miramontes said counselors regularly reach out to all students, just to check in.
"It helped me because at first I was having trouble with people in this school," she said. "They give you a paper asking you questions, how are you doing in the school, if you have friends, if you have ever thought of committing suicide."
Miramontes said the school also recently handed out papers with the phone number for a hotline students could call if they were having a difficult time.
Keller Police are also stepping up their presence in schools after the shooting in Florida, on top of the regular campus patrols and school resource officers already in place.
"Anytime someone can be helped by an outside environment - school, police, even parents, friends- it's an added benefit," said Moore.