How Beeville ISD Mobilized its Community for Safer Schools

At Beeville ISD, emergency preparedness is more than a check‑the‑box compliance exercise. The district’s annual active shooter simulation brings together all 500 employees, 30 local responding agencies, and student actors to test the community's readiness to respond to the worst kind of tragedy under real-world pressure.

Beeville ISD was one of five Fund members to earn a prestigious Excellence Award for its efforts.

“We enter this career to provide the best we can for our community,” said Beeville ISD Superintendent Travis Fanning. “Receiving the Excellence Award reinforces that people are watching the great work we’re doing each and every day. More than anything, it brings recognition that we are truly centered and focused on students first and safety as our priority.”

Why Communitywide Drills?

State law requires public school districts to maintain a multi-hazard emergency operations plan. Districts also must comply with local laws, ordinances, policies, and procedures.

Beeville ISD Chief Art Gamez says written guidance forms the framework of strong emergency response plans. Still, it's no substitute for testing yourself in high-stress situations.

"I've been in this field for two decades,” said Chief Gamez. “I've never seen somebody grab a binder and flip to chapter 7 to find out what they’re supposed to do during an emergency. We learn a lot about our abilities and our limits during these exercises."

Chief Gamez and his team coordinate the drill with support from the board and district leadership. The team spends eight months planning, and all 500 district employees participate in 9 hours of training. There’s also a command center where administrators practice their roles.

On the day of the simulation, district staff, students, and guardians join representatives from the Texas Department of Emergency Management and local first responder organizations. The community-wide nature of the simulation helps break down silos and teaches stakeholders to leverage each other's expertise toward a shared goal: ensuring everyone goes home safely at the end of the day.

Student Actors Change the Game

Student actors pitch in to make the drill seem less like practice and more like a real incident. Student actors play the role of victims, and teachers apply stage makeup to simulate wounds. One year, the chief's own son played the shooter.

 Actors do their best to make staff and first responders believe they’re injured. Chief Gamez says that level of authenticity can shake even the most seasoned professionals.

"I was a SWAT operator. I've worked major crimes. I've seen a lot,” said Chief Gamez. “But when you see kids you know, even though they're acting, and they're calling out to you by name, it changes the game."

Adding to the realism, the local hospital stages a mass casualty area where victims are treated. Communications directors from local agencies even send mock updates to the media. To avoid trauma, participants are given a safe phrase to use if they need to withdraw from the exercise.

Tough Questions

Coordinating a communitywide drill of this scope doesn't have to be daunting. In fact, Beeville ISD started with a single wing of the high school. Chief Gamez says any district that wants to launch a similar initiative should start by asking tough questions.

"We brought people in that responded to some of these tragedies in our state and asked them to challenge our superintendent, first responders, and officials and ask, 'Here's what happened in our community. Are you truly prepared if something similar happened in Bee County?'"

That's the kind of transparency and self-reflection that drives strong risk management programs and makes Texas schools safer places to work and learn.