SARASOTA, Fla. — Since last year’s massacre in Parkland, the Sarasota County school district has implemented many changes.
The district is now ranked among the highest in the state for safety. Some of those changes include starting their own school-based police force, hiring more counselors and changing security protocols for how teachers, staff and students respond to emergencies.
While the efforts make students feel safer, Thursday, marked a year since the tragedy and is a somber reminder of why these changes went into place.
Students at Booker High School started their day with a moment of silence. A choir sang as the entire student body reflected on the 17 victims who lost their lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“I feel like we should remember the people who lost their lives in Parkland and I feel like we should never forget what happened,” Jabrielle Nelson said. She’s a sophomore at the school.
Since the massacre, students at Booker High say school has never been the same.
“So many things have changed for us. It is just a lot to take in. Due to different policies, like our fire drills changing to different drills and stuff like that,” Myles Summerlin said.
Summerlin said he has several family members who go to MSD.
Changes put in place to make schools safer are now the norm. Thursday, Booker High students were encouraged to wear maroon and silver, the colors for Marjory Stoneman Douglas. One by one, they took turns writing messages on eagle postcards. The South Florida school’s mascot is an eagle.
“I feel like we are more prepared for an event like this. I wish we didn’t have to feel like this,” Summerlin said.
With Thursday also being Valentine’s Day, the names of the 17 victims were written in hearts on a poster the students signed.
For junior Aiden Pearson, the messages are especially personal. He says he knew one of the victims, 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff
“The next morning, I woke up to a phone call from one of my buddies telling she was no longer with us," Pearson said.
Moving forward, these students are choosing to stay resilient, not letting fear or hatred win.
The messages students wrote will be sent to Marjory Stoneman Douglas within the next month.
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