The Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas is a sad reminder that these incidents can happen anywhere. The Washoe County School District is trying to reduce that threat in many ways. Every elementary and middle school in the district has a single point of entry. That was part of the Big Three Projects that also included secure perimeter fencing and interior door locks.

"We believe in building up each layer of security to try and make it difficult for someone to get inside the building or the classroom," Chief Jason Trevino, WCSD Police Department said.

Every new school has these features built into the plans. WCSD has also made similar changes to the older schools. Capital projects funding pays for the upgrades.

"We have a lot of different buildings in the district and a lot of different styles of buildings, so that has presented some unique challenges for us but we continue to work through those to try and get everything implemented across," Trevino said.

Many parents have an uneasy feeling, the day after the Texas school shooting. It is a lot harder for some to drop their kids off at school after such a large massacre.

"It's extremely hard," Trevino said. "I liken it to the same type of effect of getting on an airplane after 911. You have a lot of different thoughts going through your head that weren't going through your head, the day before. As a parent, my heart always goes out to parents. Being a parent's a tough job every day but when something like this happens, of course it makes it even harder."

The WCSD Police Department plays a large role in school safety, including training for mass incidents. Officers work with other regional law enforcement agencies to prepare for the possibility of a mass shooting happening in Reno or Sparks. They also tour new schools before they open, so they know the layout if an emergency happens.

"We have campus officers and we have patrol officers, so the patrol officers pick up schools that we don't have an officer assigned to and they pop in there, they check on the campuses, walk the halls, the playgrounds, stuff like that, meet with admin, see if there's any concerns," Trevino said.

He says another valuable tool is the relationship officers have with students.

"One of the things we really pride ourselves on with our school police department is the connection that our officers have with students," Trevino said. "The fact that our officers know those students by name and face, they know their siblings, they often times even know their parents. That pays dividends."

The state has a law that implemented the SafeVoice Nevada system, which includes an app. It allows students to report situations and get ahead of a potential threat before it happens. Trevino says students are a major reason why many of these crimes are stopped ahead of time. He says parents and students should pay attention to what people say, how they act, and what they post on social media platforms.

"Students want to be safe at school," Trevino said. "They want to be able to come to school and learn and not have to worry about violence in their schools, so they do report things."

Carson City School District also has a single point of entry system in all of its schools.