TOLEDO, Ohio — Hearts are heavy at Escuela SMART Academy, which is the only bilingual school in the Toledo Public Schools district.
Knowing most of the students killed were Latino, the president of its advisory board wants a long-term solution after the shooting.
On Thursday, with the last day of classes for Escuela SMART students, the big focus now is on how to keep them out of harm's way.
Linda Alvarado-Arce says it's time to look at the bigger picture and protect students in and out of the classroom.
"What's most heartbreaking is that it was a Latino, and students that are Latino," Alvarado-Arce said. "That's probably the most heartbreaking piece of it all."
It was a rush of emotions for Alvarado-Arce to discuss the 19 children and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Alvarado-Arce is the president of Avance Latinx Academico Society, or ALAS, which is a non-profit advisory board for Escuela SMART Academy.
"Lots of children and teachers. I work with teachers, I've always worked with pre-service teachers, so that was really hard to see. That, you know, 'hey could be a student that I once had, that I was teaching,'" said Linda Alvarado-Arce.
She knows this could have happened anywhere, but she says she's on a mission to prevent it from happening here.
In the past, she's worked on an initiative to reduce violence in the city which included seven different pillars of a person's life.
From education to safety, to economic development, to faith-based.
"As these are aspects of a person's development that we have to relook at and address," Alvarado-Arce said. "So I'm asking us at least here and around this school, this immediate school: let's come collectively and let's work on solutions in every single aspect."
For both the students and the parents.
Alvarado-Arce says it has to do with the impact both school and society have on one another.
As for parents, she says there's a crucial part they need to play as well.
"If you're a parent out there and this is hard or uneasy, get involved. Get involved and help us to change this and make it safer and better for your student, your kid, the neighbor's kids and everybody else," she said. "You need to get involved. We need to hear your voices."
Alvarado-Arce is planning on having a community meeting to share what services are offered at the school and discuss what services are still needed. A date has not yet been set for that meeting.