Students at Apalachee High School could return to classes soon. Here’s what other schools have done

Dianna Moreno was afraid walking into Apalachee High School to find the laptop and charger she left behind when she rushed to evacuate after two other students and two teachers were killed last week.

“It’s just a scary moment,” the 16-year-old student said about returning to campus this week. “Ever since that happened, you just have to be cautious about your surroundings and it’s just scary going to sleep and it’s just overall scary going back to the school, knowing the last time you were here a really bad tragedy happened.”

While it’s unclear what will happen at the Winder, Georgia, school, students like Moreno could soon be returning to class. They had just begun the school year in early August, and nearby schools resumed classes on Tuesday with additional counselors, therapy dogs and law enforcement providing additional security, according to the Barrow County School System.

Several principals who led students during and in the aftermath of other deadly shootings told CNN getting students back into classrooms after a tragedy is a complex and sometimes lengthy process. But more importantly, they said, it’s a process that should not be rushed.

“I think it’s very important for people to understand that there has to be some time devoted to the recovery process,” said Michelle Kefford, principal at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. “Everyone is processing or will process a tragedy differently. And everyone – even though they experience the same tragedy – their intimate or personal experience is very unique.”

For Kefford, that process initially involved finding alternative classroom space when it was decided that a three-story building where the massacre took place would remain off-limits. It meant changing seating arrangements to avoid empty seats “where you knew that victim once sat,” or running fire drills without sounding an alarm. At her school, 17 people were killed in 2018.

“We have to be sensitive to all of those things. We changed so many, so many things here as a result of the shooting because we had to really think about … what may be activating to staff and students, and try to mitigate those factors, try to eliminate those factors,” Kefford added.

Principals share what they’ve learned

School principals who have experienced gun violence in their schools have found support in a network of their peers, known as the Principal Recovery Network. In 2022, the group of school leaders published a collection of best practices principals can refer to as they navigate the aftermath of a tragedy.

In the “Guide to Recovery,” the group offers guidance on securing support, reopening schools, attending the needs of the students and staff, holding commemorations and listening to student voices. Some of their recommendations are:

• Ensure all physical damage is repaired before bringing any students or staff back onto campus.

• Allow staff members to “feel comfortable in their building first before they are prepared to support students and resume teaching” by attending meetings or gatherings.

• Consider not reopening the school or resuming classes until any funerals have taken place.

• Once the school is reopened, host an “open house” or event to “allow families, staff, and/or students to visit the school on their terms and feel safe before returning for official school days.”

Kacy Shahid, a former principal at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, Missouri, said she was the first school administrator to use the guide. A former student opened fire at that school, killing a student and a teacher in October 2022.

At the time, Shahid said she followed the guide’s framework because her district had not experienced gun violence like that and didn’t have a recovery plan. She learned it was important to provide students with opportunities to express themselves, which in their case meant planning and participating in a student assembly on the school’s football field.

Students did not return to in-person classes until three months later, Shahid said, and that only took place after officials surveyed the school community.

“It definitely should not be done in isolation of the school community,” Shahid said. “It should not just be something that the district level decides or that the state level makes that decision, but you should include your teachers, students and parents in that conversation.”

Shahid admitted it was hard to be a leader facing the aftermath of a tragedy and said it was her students that gave her the strength to do so.

“I’ll speak for myself. I did not have the strength and the wherewithal to even begin to pull everyone together. It was the students, and I gave them that opportunity,” she said.

What other schools have done after deadly shootings

School administrators have opted for shutting down or eventually razing buildings, installing enhanced security measures and providing extended mental health services as they welcome back students to classes.

In Uvalde, Texas, students did not return to classes at Robb Elementary School in 2022. Instead, they were assigned to other public schools in the area or chose to attend private schools the following school year. A new elementary school is being built about two miles away and the construction is expected to be completed next year.

Other schools have reopened months, weeks and days later. In Florida, students returned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School two weeks after the February 2018 massacre. But Building 12, where most of the victims were killed, was closed off behind emergency tape with its windows covered for six years before it was demolished in July.

In Texas, students at Santa Fe High School returned 11 days after a May 2018 shooting to finish the school year. More school resource officers were hired and a number of security measures were installed, including metal detectors, improved locks and panic buttons, according to CNN affiliate KHOU. In May, a design was unveiled for a memorial honoring the victims that is expected to be built on campus. It’s unclear when construction will begin.

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