KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Teachers take on new roles as they learn to protect students from danger.
For more than two decades, Greg Stegall has wandered the halls of several Kansas City Public Schools.
"I got into teaching because I wanted to give back to the community, and it seemed like I was natural working with kids all the time, and it turned out to be true," said Stegall with the Kansas City Federation of Teachers.
Throughout his 23 years of teaching, Stegall's job has become more than just that.
"The way the country has changed with shooters and schools, it's really changed the way we think about things and the way we keep kids safe at school," said Stegall.
When he started his career, there was no such thing as active shooter training.
"Twenty-three years ago, we didn't have intruder drills. We didn't have active shooter drills. We didn't have lockdown drills. We just had fire drills and tornado drills," said Stegall.
Now, times have changed. Kansas City Public Schools are doing monthly drills and Safe Schools Training every year.
"You know the first time I did the active shooter training, it was very eye-opening. It was a very emotional day because you know, they were actually shooting things at us and we were in classrooms hiding and it was not a very good feeling," said Stegall.
Following the school shooting in Florida two days ago, safety has been weighing heavily on his mind.
"It also scares me when I get to school because there are so many little lives that I am responsible for," said Stegall.
That same fear now being felt by students everywhere.
"School is a place where they go to be safe, and we keep them safe all day and if you see shootings in Florida, if you see shootings at Columbine, if you see shootings in Jonesboro or wherever they happen, and the kids start seeing that, they start to wonder are we safe here as well," said Stegall.
Stegall said every month, Kansas City Public Schools practice a different safety drill. He said they're always preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.
