
Legacy Elementary School in Uvalde welcomes third to fifth graders, prioritizing security with bulletproof glass and trauma-informed design.
UVALDE, Texas — For some students in Uvalde Monday morning, it’s a new beginning.
Legacy Elementary School was built after the tragedy at Robb Elementary and will be welcoming students into its classrooms for the very first time.
The third, fourth, and fifth graders who’ll be attending Legacy Elementary School have been at Flores Elementary since the beginning of the school year.
But Monday, they’ll finally be filling the classrooms of the new campus and security was top of mind in this build.
With trauma-informed design, there are calm rooms on both floors. The school, which can hold 800 students, was built with classrooms visible from the hallway with bulletproof glass. Sensors are on every door to notify the administration if one is open for too long. Bathrooms are located inside and outside the classrooms, along with areas specifically designed for special education.
Families of the 21 victims, including Jesse Rizo, uncle of Jacklyn Cazares and a UCISD school board member were able to take a tour of the new school ahead of the first day.
““It’s tough, right? Because it’s a beautiful campus. You wish, under different circumstances, it would be just a happy day. Entirely happy, right? But I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty of tears as people drive up and drop off their kids,” Rizo said.
There are tributes for the 21 victims throughout the school, including a large tree in the middle of the building, with 19 small branches for the students and two large branches representing the teachers.
Some of the families of the victims will be on campus Monday morning because several of the 19 students have siblings who’ll attend Legacy Elementary.
The first bell rings at 7 a.m.