PARKLAND, Fla. _ A heavy police presence and a steady stream of well-wishers _ some with two legs and some with four _ were on hand Wednesday morning as students returned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High for the first day of classes since the school shooting two weeks ago that killed 17 people and injured 15 others.
Daniela Ortiz, 17, passed hundreds of law enforcement officers on her walk to campus. Some were riding horses, others had their K-9 units with #MSDStrong bandanas on, and a few had bulletproof vests.
Daniela said she hadn't heard her alarm clock go off in awhile. But when her alarm rang Wednesday morning, she was prepared to face the day.
"I'm ready to go into the day and do this with all my friends and all my teachers and all my classmates," she said. "It's hard but we're doing it."
Her mother, Claudia Ortiz, said the family prayed together before coming to campus in the morning. Just before Daniela crossed the street to start the day, her parents each gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I can't wait to come pick her up today," Claudia Ortiz said.
Rod Skirvin, vice president of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association, said hundreds of off-duty officers from as far away as New York came to show support and provide a visual reminder that students and teachers are safe today.
Officers also passed out a thousand donated flowers to students.
"It's just hard to have a sad face when someone hands you a flower," Skirvin said. "Even if it's just for the moment, it's changed their day."
The law enforcement officers weren't the only ones supporting students. Esteban Castellanos, a 15-year-old student at Coral Glades High School, said he skipped class to bring his MSD Strong poster and "make sure no one feels scared to go back."
"The whole county supports them," he said.
Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said there are no formal classes planned today or for the rest of the week, but grief counselors are available. To ease the transition, the school will be open on an abbreviated schedule, from 7:40 to 11:40 a.m.
"We'll accommodate any student how they need to be accommodated," Runcie said. "Our students need to be together. They need to be in school."
Stoneman Douglas principal Ty Thompson tweeted Tuesday evening that students didn't need to bring backpacks on the first day of classes. "Remember our focus is on emotional readiness and comfort not curriculum: So there is no need for backpacks. Come ready to start the healing process," he said.
The Broward school district has provided teachers with information to help guide conversations about the shooting, both at Stoneman Douglas and across the county, Runcie said on Tuesday. Teachers returned to Stoneman Douglas for the first time on Friday for a meeting and a question-and-answer session with the principal. They were also back on the campus on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the students' arrival.
The freshman building where the shooting took place remains closed. The school district plans to demolish the building and replace it with a memorial. Florida legislators have promised to provide resources to help the school district build new classrooms. In the meantime, school administrators have reorganized class schedules to accommodate the approximately 900 students who attended class in the building.
Students who aren't ready to return to Stoneman Douglas on Wednesday won't be penalized, Runcie said. "Students that don't show up, we're going to reach out to them and see what we can do to help them," he said.
Returning to the scene of the tragedy two weeks later can be psychologically fraught for some kids, but for most children it's actually helpful, said Jonathan Comer, the Director of the Mental Health Interventions and Technology Program at Florida International University.
"After traumatic events, we typically encourage families and schools to return to their familiar structure and daily routines as quickly as possible," he said. "Familiarity goes a long way in fostering a sense of return to normalcy and predictability."
The quicker students and teachers can get back to normal, the better, Comer said. It's helpful and reassuring for children to know the tragedy hasn't changed everything. Abruptly transitioning, as in the case of students who have new classroom assignments now that their old ones are part of a crime scene, could add to student stress and possibly prolong their emotional recovery.
For some kids, being back on campus may cause post traumatic stress symptoms, including feelings of fear, helplessness, horror or reliving the trauma over again.
"It will be critical to have child trauma experts on-site to support students as needed with the wide range of reactions that may emerge," Comer said.
