TYLER, Texas — In the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting, school safety has been the forefront of the conversation.
Through those serious conversations, a question comes to mind: "How does a child go about saying something if they see something suspicious?"
Counselor Marcus Wade says it's a question that requires further discussion with the child.
"Just letting kids know that trusting an adult is OK, is one of the priorities, I think that we all should learn from K through 12 that the adults are there for our safety," Wade said. "We have to trust them that when they tell us things that they can respond to it and there possibly be a solution at the end."
Sometimes having that tough conversation isn't easy, due to several factors that can lead kids to hesitate. The stress of peer pressure from social media and cyberbullying can cause red flags to go unreported.
"I think there's a lot of peer pressure that goes on in today's society; they don't want to be that person to go talk to counselors, the principal or a police officer," Smith County Constable Josh Joplin said. "But at the end of day, it shouldn't matter what another kid says."
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Wade says it's essential for parents and counselors to instill an environment of trust and transparency in order to find a core solution to the problem.
"I don't push them to feel obligated to it," Wade said "Once they find a connection and see that we care and we listen and are empathic to what they're bringing to the table, then we can come up with some solutions."
Another source where law enforcement encourages people to report suspicious activity is iWatchTexas., which is an app and website created by the Texas Department of Public Safety that captures and connects potential criminal, terroristic or school safety-related threats and all reports are confidential.