Santa Fe High School Students Return 3 Months After Deadly Attack

SANTA FE, TEXAS – Monday was the first day of school at Santa Fe High school. Students and staff returned to a learning environment that three months ago became a bloodbath when a lone gunman shot 23 teachers and students, leaving 10 of them dead. A 17-year-old fellow student is now charged with their murders.

There have been a lot of of changes since that day in May but students, parents and teachers, many of whom embraced and wept in front of the school in the days after the shooting, were ready to come back. The Santa Fe community held a candlelight at the campus Sunday evening with local pastors praying for students and the school.

But the preparations and changes that needed to take place for the 2018-2019 school year began in June as the seniors in the class of 2018 were preparing to graduate.

In the wake of the shooting, the Santa Fe school board over the summer enacted changes on the campus that included panic buttons, bolstered door locks, metal detectors and a security vestibule with bulletproof glass at the front entrance to the school. Teachers and staff members also received training on curriculum, safety, and mental health issues.

READ ALSO: Panic Buttons Part of Santa Fe ISD Security Upgrades

Last week, the Santa Fe School District issued a press release to parents that security would be tight with “multiple law enforcement agencies” assisting the school district’s police department with security at all the district’s campuses. School officials said additional counselors would also be available, if needed.

“As a community, we are committed to providing a safe and supportive environment as we prepare our students for a successful start to the 2018-2019 school year,” district officials said in a press advisory.

As students filed into the school, members of the Santa Fe Tribe Moms -- a parent's organization launched after the shooting -- handed out stickers and pencils with encouraging messages.

The first day of school may have also been the first day of real healing for many of these students.

“It's straight up emotional for everybody,” Lesley Darnell, a Santa Fe High told KPRC.

For those students who will struggle the first few days of school, there's help at the Santa Fe Strong Resiliency Center, officials said.

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Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

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