Hope For Douglas: Making Our Campuses Safer As We Heal From Tragedy
My students need to feel a sense of safety and security in the aftermath of the tragic events at Douglas High School on February 14th and these radios will provide increased staff communication.
The students of W. Middle School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School suffered a major tragedy on February 14, 2018. On that day, a gunman opened fire in Douglas High School killing a total of 17 students and staff members and injuring dozens of others. It has been a very difficult time for the Parkland, FL community and the surrounding areas.
The loss of the 17 students and teachers will forever impact the lives of each and every person connected to the school.
The damage done both physically and emotionally was so bad that the 3-story building where most of the deaths occurred is going to be torn down and replaced by a memorial. The students in this situation will need both short-term and long-term support to get through this difficult time in the weeks, months and years to come.
As the middle school directly connected to Douglas High School, W. students, teachers and families have friends, family members and colleagues affected by this tragedy. I lost a student who was in my class last year who died as a hero holding a classroom door open for others to escape when he lost his life.
My Project
As the Douglas community continues to heal in the aftermath of the school shooting, I will be requesting items for different resources for the committee I am leading to support the recovery efforts. The committee is made up of teachers, students, parents and community members at my school (Westglades Middle School) which is connected with the Douglas High campus. The committee will work on supporting three areas: Douglas High, Westglades Middle and the Parkland, FL community.
As students and staff get ready to return to school, Douglas High needs a sense of safety and security to help them continue to heal from the tragic events of February 14, 2018.
The two-way Motorola radios will be provided to the Douglas High administration to distribute to staff and teachers as they see fit to increase communication at the school and be able to respond to events on campus in a quicker, more efficient manner. Increased communication between, teachers, security staff and administrators will also provide a visible sense of safety for the students.
Since the Westglades Middle School and Douglas High School campuses are directly connected, Westglades Middle School went into an immediate lock down. As a teacher in a portable classroom in the back of the Westglades Middle campus, my students and I heard the gunshots since our proximity to Douglas is so close. We will keep two or three radios available at the middle school and give the remaining radios to the high school so we can provide immediate communication between the two campuses. As the school board looks to review safety procedures and better protect our students, these radios will provide a great first step to those ends.
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