The end of the school year is always a time of reflection. Teachers and students look back at what they learned and memories with friends made along the way. Just below the surface there’s another realization: relief that gun violence didn’t reach the halls of their schools this year. Every year dozens of schools across the country aren’t so lucky.

I know that terror. I was a second grade teacher at the Sandy Hook School in 2012, when a gunman fired 154 shots, killing 20 students and six teachers and staff, and forever changing our community. Since that horrific day, I have dedicated my life to preventing gun violence and supporting survivors.

This year during Gun Violence Prevention Month, I’m thinking about the teachers I’ve met with over the last year who dealt with the fear, impact and aftermath of gun violence in and around schools.

From Minneapolis to Colorado, to California, to Connecticut and Missouri — whether it was this year or several years ago, the challenges remain. Despite the varied circumstances, locations and dates, they have much in common. Teachers often feel the pressure – sometimes explicit, sometimes never quite directly stated – to “return to normal” as soon as possible.

After a tragedy, teachers return to classrooms carrying an often invisible and heavy weight of grief and trauma, all while supporting students and trying to restore a sense of safety.

What we hear again and again is that the hardest part isn’t necessarily the moment itself, it’s what comes after. There’s the need for continued, sustained support — not just in moments of shock or crisis, but in the weeks, months, and years that follow. Too often, while there may be an initial flurry of support from the local community, the sustained support networks just aren’t there for school staff.

A study of gun violence survivors from Everytown Research found that 43 percent of survivors of gun violence needed support for six months or longer after a shooting, with the top two areas of need being mental health and peer support.

That’s why last year, with the support of many of my colleagues who have been personally impacted by school gun violence, I launched the first-ever crisis intervention team for teachers and school staff. While administrators have long had a support network of their own, this is the first such team dedicated to serving teachers and frontline staff.

I’m proud our team is not only led by educators, but by clinicians. Together, our program integrates best practices in prevention, early intervention, crisis intervention, and postvention, ensuring every response is tailored, evidence-based, and deeply collaborative.

The reality I’ve learned, especially when working with fellow survivors, is there is no timeline for trauma. This is the key thing that more school administrators and union leaders need to hear. Too often teachers are simply expected to simply grind it out without support.

Last year I retired from teaching after 32 years. What helped me continue teaching for nearly a decade after enduring the Sandy Hook tragedy? Critical support I received from two Columbine teachers and the longtime groupwork provided by an experienced trauma clinician.

I also know gun violence takes many different forms and doesn’t always look like what my fellow teachers dealt with after the Sandy Hook School tragedy. An average of 57 shootings occur near a school daily in the United States, according to The Trace.

It doesn’t have to be this way. My organization, Teachers Unify, is building a grassroots movement of educators and school staff across America who are raising their voices to demand safety from gun violence in our communities. For too long educators have been left out of the national dialogue around gun violence even though they are on the frontlines of this crisis.

Teachers are among the most trusted professionals in the country, second only to nurses, and they have unique insights into how to keep our schools safe. When they have the tools to advocate for change and a seat at the table as experts on children, schools and communities have potential to be safer and stronger.

This Gun Violence Prevention Month, I invite you to join our fight. Talk to your friends and family about safe firearm storage. Volunteer with a gun violence prevention organization in your area.

Our kids are counting on us.

Abbey Clements is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. She encourages any teachers or staff who have experienced gun violence and need help to contact response@teachersunify.org or 203-296-3689.