PARKLAND, Fla. — They took their first steps toward normalcy on Wednesday.
Surrounded by a heavy police presence, students returned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High for the first time since a gunman killed 17 students and staff on Valentine’s Day.
“We’re just going to try to support each other,” said Bradley Golub, 14, who was in the building where the shooting took place. He admitted feeling nervous going in.
Kim Singer walked to school with her 15-year-old freshman daughter Ella, who lost two friends in the massacre. Both wore the school colors.
“It’s very emotional,” she said. “We’re grieving.”
When they first walked in, some students hugged one another or gave high-fives. Others walked pensively, alone and in groups.
A group of therapy dogs, which came from Connecticut at the request of the Coral Springs police, greeted them. In the parking lot were cars soaped with “MSD strong” and other messages.
That’s the school spirit that made Zareyah Simpson, 16, happy to return to the Parkland campus.
“I feel good to be back because this is my school, and I missed it,” she said. “It’s a little nerve wracking after what happened, but I feel like the school is much safer.”
Hundreds of police officers from dozens of agencies — including a contingency from New York — surrounded the school Wednesday to ensure the students felt safe and protected.
Rod Skirvin, vice president of the Police Benevolent Association in Broward, gave out 1,000 carnations donated by Field of Flowers as the students crossed Pine Island Road to enter the school.
“It’s something gentle, something refreshing. You can’t frown at a flower,” he said.
Rachel Jean, 16, carried a white stuffed bear with a heart to bring to a friend. She said she was going to transfer until she talked it over with her mother.
“I’m going to be safer,” she said, gesturing toward the police.
Also there to provide protection: The Florida chapter of the Guardian Angels, wearing their signature red jackets and caps.
“We want people to feel safe and secure that we’re here,” said chapter leader David Cobra Clemente.
The police presence impressed Mackenzie Chapman, a 16-year-old junior.
“I feel safe, especially with that number of cops, she said. “It’s crazy.”
Of the school, she said: “We’re going to come back stronger than ever.”
Alek Pacocha, 17, a junior who was in the vicinity of the shooting, said, “It’s not going to happen again. If I just keep repeating that in my head every day, I’ll believe it.”
He said the hardest part of going back will be doing the schoolwork.
“We’re so far behind. I don’t know how we’ll catch up,” he said.
Still, the students will be on a shortened four-hour day all week to help them transition back, district officials said.
Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie offered a message of hope in a tweet on Wednesday morning.
“I pray that today is the beginning of our long and difficult journey from grief, sorrow and anger to a new consciousness of hope, compassion and love,” he said. “Thank you to our young people for leading the way. Welcome Back! #MSDStrong #NeverAgain”
Around the school, neighbors lined sidewalks and posters let students know “You’ve got this” and “We are with you.’”
Suzanna Barna, a 17-year-old senior, was not so sure about coming back.
“I’m a little bit nervous to see how different everything feels,” she said. “It’s going to take some time for me.”
Claudia Ortiz said her daughter Daniella, 17, didn’t want to come to orientation Sunday but is in school today.
The mother said she has been watching the news a lot but stopped because “it was consuming me. Going back will give the kids a chance to be normal again.”
Jeannine Gittens and her son, Jevon, 16, moved to Coral Springs five months ago to stay with friends after Hurricane Maria ravaged the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she was living.
“It was just basic insanity, and you come here trying to get your life organized and this happens,” she said.
Jevon was in the building where the shooting happened, she said.
“By the grace of God, he was saved,” she said. “One of the students who was shot ran into the classroom while they were taking a math class and yelled, ‘I’m shot! I’m shot!’ The math teacher sprang into action and locked the door, and that’s probably why all the kids in that particular class were not injured.”
Gittens said she felt comfortable sending him back to school.
“The kids are resilient, and I think in the past two weeks the school has rallied families and created a big support group,” she said. “The school is amazing. They have counseling and every support mechanism is available to students and parents. The police present here is absolutely unbelievable.”
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Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel announced last week that deputies guarding schools in Broward will carry rifles, including AR-15s, the type of gun Nikolas Cruz used in the massacre.
Cruz, a former student at Marjory Douglas, is charged with 17 counts of murder and could face the death penalty.
The school district is reviewing long-term security plans for all schools, and Runcie said the district plans to ask the Legislature for money to hire more school-based police officers.
Runcie said he is trying to expedite the placement of fences, gates and barriers around school perimeters so people can enter a school campus only at the front office. The district may consider other measures, including bullet-proof windows on classroom doors.
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