Safety & Wellness Segment

Remembering Columbine - What We’ve Learned

Submitted by Barbara Grimm, Founder and President of School Responder, and C.J. Huff, Ed.D.

April 20, 2024 marks 25 years since one of the most notorious tragedies to occur on school grounds – the Columbine massacre. Those of us who have been around awhile know this was a turning point in our nation’s focus on school safety. We have learned so much, yet the prevention of these attacks continues to be a harrowing challenge for school leaders.

We know creating a culture of safety is one piece of a very complex puzzle. A strong culture grounded in mutual respect and sincere concern for the well-being of others is a vital component to creating a safe and supporting learning environment where teachers can teach, and children can learn.

Hindsight is a gift. It provides us with the opportunity to reflect on lessons learned and how we can improve our collective efforts to keep our kids and our staff safe and sound. It also gives us an opportunity to create a new vision for what safety in our school community looks like and how we can engage others in that collective effort. It all starts with relationships.

A favorite quote of Frank DeAngelis, the principal of Columbine High School at the time of the shooting, drives this point home, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,”-Theodore Roosevelt. We know how valuable positive connections between students and staff are to maintaining a safe school environment. Not only does fostering a relationship with a student make it easier for them to ask for help, but it also clues teachers and staff in on how a student is feeling and whether they should be concerned. Our students need adults they can turn to for support in a time of crisis. If we want them to say something when there is the threat of harm or concern, then we must first be willing to listen and show we care. Knowing your students is a bedrock principle of a positive school culture and one of the most important and rewarding roles we can play as adults. Check out this article in Edutopia for more information on the positive role of relationships in the school setting.