UVALDE, Texas — What happened in Uvalde continues to resonate many months later.
While it feels like things are back to normal and students are back in school -- that could not be further from the truth.
The impact of the tragedy can even be felt in the neighboring school districts. Parents of neighboring districts have been adamant about beefing up security to prevent another tragedy.
Many districts have already employed on-campus security. Some districts have installed fencing and locked doors with special entry access around campus.
"They're all our kids. There is no them and us, it is we," said La Pryor Superintendent William Arevalo, who was once an educator in Dallas and Fort Worth. "It changes your perspective, it changes your focus, and it's changed the way we respond to our schools."
La Pryor is roughly 20 miles from Uvalde. Arevalo said it has been a challenge meeting all the needs of parents considering they are a small district with a smaller budget.
The students who attended Robb Elementary are scattered across the city. Some Uvalde parents have just opted to move or endure the longer drive to another district. Some families have opted to do virtual learning.
"They get to see their classmates again and do things together. It is for them a beginning of the new chapter in their life," said Father Eduardo Morales of Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart Catholic School doubled its enrollment to now over 100 students. Outside donors paid more than $1 million for scholarships for former Robb Elementary students to go there.
"That's what I hope they feel that they are being welcomed; that they're not just coming here because what happened," said Morales.
While teachers, administrators and staff may be inviting, schools may not feel it. The fences at Benson Educational Complex are now eight feet high.
That is the reality for schools five months removed from tragedy.
"Sadly it's not looking like the school we want it to. But again, security has to be the priority. The original design and intention of schools has changed to one of protection and closing off," said Arevalo.
We are nearly five months removed from the tragedy and still too soon to feel any different.