Tucson Standard

The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) superintendent sent a letter to parents after 21 people were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo's letter informed parents about additional security precautions and offered support to families.

"To ensure a safe and celebratory graduation season for our graduates and their families, our TUSD school safety department will deploy its officers and all available resources necessary to maintain a visible presence at all of our high school graduation ceremonies," Trujillo said in the letter, which was obtained by KOLD.

"We will continue to maintain an open line of communication with both the Tucson Police Department and the Pima County Sheriff's Office to share intelligence and will continue to monitor incidents across the country," Trujillo said.

The district plans to provide extra support to students and their families as they try to cope with the tragedy, KOLD reported.

"As yesterday's mass shooting in Texas and the events of the last few weeks have shocked, saddened, and traumatized many across the nation, if you, your child, or student want additional support or would like to speak to someone, our counselors will be available on campus, or your child can reach out through our Tucson Unified Connect App and use Talk Space to connect with professional support 24 hours a day," Trujillo said.

TUSD Board President Adelita Grijalva said the district is increasingly aware of the circumstances surrounding this year's commencement ceremonies.

"I think all of the pieces that are usually in place in our TUSD graduations will be there," Grijalva told KGUN 9. "People will be on a little bit heightened alert than we normally are."

TUSD is the only school district in Arizona with a Department of School Safety; the district plans to review its security protocols in the coming months.

"I think the unfortunate part of all of this is that every parent had the fear this morning when dropping my child off at school is, 'Are we doing enough?'" Grijalva said."Obviously, nationwide, we are not doing enough. We as a community are doing everything we can."