Hundreds of well-wishers show support for school
Lidia Cleveland had offered to be with her son when he walked into Santa Fe High School on Tuesday.
She wanted to make sure he felt supported, although the senior, Jacob Hinton, said he wanted to return on his own.
Still, the 17-year-old was far from alone.
Hundreds of well-wishers joined Cleveland along the side of Texas 6 in front of the high school on Tuesday morning as students returned for classes for the first time since a May 18 mass shooting that killed 10 people and injured 13 others. A 17-year-old student has been charged with capital murder in the killings.
“It’s going to be tough, coming back for the first time,” Cleveland said from her spot along the road, before most students had arrived. “But he needs to face it and try to move on.”
Most Santa Fe High students began their school day at 10 a.m., nearly three hours after their regular start time. As 10 a.m. approached, many stood in a 150yard line that snaked around the southeastern half of the building.
Senior Gracie Hamilton, 17, said students were scanned with metal detectors and were checked into the school by staff. Law enforcement officers from as far away as the Klein and Houston school districts helped guide traffic and escort students inside.
“Then we headed to the gym for our ceremony, which was totally heart-wrenching to see the slide show of the people who lost their lives in the shooting,” Hamilton wrote in a text message. “We all came together and held each other and it was beautiful.”
Gov. Greg Abbott made an unannounced appearance and promised he would work to make changes to better secure schools. Students locked arms and sang their school song as the assembly ended.
Outside, many of those gathered had dressed in hunter green and yellow in a nod to the school’s colors. Some held handmade signs in one hand and shielded their eyes from the glare of the rising sun with the other.
Six school buses filled with more than 200 Alvin ISD students, who finished their school year on Friday, pulled up to the school at about 7:35 a.m. They lined up along the shaded southwest corner of the school, holding signs and clapping for law enforcement and Santa Fe students as they walked toward the main entrance.
Lee Blatt, an algebra II teacher at Alvin High School, said many Santa Fe students looked grief-stricken as they made their way into the school.
“It wasn’t in them to smile, but some of them said ‘thank you,’” said Blatt, who is also Alvin High’s student council sponsor. “One (Santa Fe High) parent wrote on Facebook that when she returned to her car, all she could do was cry. When she first arrived at school, she wanted to turn around and go back home. But when she saw us there welcoming students, it gave them strength to go in.”
Manolis Tjanis, a 15-year-old who attends Alvin High but did not travel there on one of the school buses, said he does not know anyone who attends Santa Fe High School but wanted to be part of something positive on their first day back.
“I think we don’t see enough of the caring and love we need in the world,” Tjanis said. “We wait for bad things to happen before we do something like this.”
Eight Santa Fe High School students and two substitute teachers died in last week’s massacre.
They were identified as teachers Glenda Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale, and students Jared Black, Shana Fisher, Christian Riley Garcia, Aaron Kyle McLeod, Angelique Ramirez, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Jake Stone and Kimberly Vaughan.
Eight of the dead were buried last week and over the weekend. Vaughan’s funeral was Tuesday, and Perkins’ is scheduled for Wednesday.
Authorities have charged a 17year-old senior in the slayings. Police said he came into the school that morning with a Remington 870 shotgun, a .38-caliber pistol and a few faulty, homemade bombs.
The campus was closed immediately after the shooting rampage, and teachers returned to work last week on Wednesday. Counselors will be on campus through Friday to provide services to students and staff, according to Santa Fe ISD.
Graduation is still on schedule for seniors and will be held Friday. Hamilton, the graduating senior, said she was inspired by the coming together of students on Tuesday.
“It was honestly beautiful seeing everyone stand together as one,” Hamilton said. “It truly shows the strength the Santa Fe community has.”