Apalachee High School reopens amidst emotional healing, heightened security
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. - Before the bell rang on the campus of Apalachee High School on Tuesday morning, it was a familiar sight to see students with backpacks walking inside for class.
Each one returned to the scene of the crime that would forever change this community.
"I was nervous to go back, but seeing everybody there and just being all together was a little better," said Stephanie Folgar, a senior at the school. "Not too scary going back."
Tuesday’s phased reopening of the school was a chance for Folgar to reconnect with friends nearly three weeks after the traumatic day on campus.
"Because you just kind of forget and this is like a better moment," she said. "You don't think about what happened in school."
The innocence of the students was taken when shots were fired earlier this month, and now the school district is trying to restore that sense of safety. Extra counselors were available Tuesday, including therapy dogs and a heavy law enforcement presence.
"I was very nervous, a show of police did not comfort me," said Ivia Carter, the mom of a 10th grader at Apalachee High School.
Carter said she was glad the school district was trying to get back to normal, but her daughter was anxious about going back. She said overall, her daughter did well.
"When I sent my daughter to school this morning, I did tell her to make sure she keeps her phone on her and to make sure she calls and gives me updates," she said.
The hallway where the shooting took place will stay closed all school year and that means busing students to an off-campus building for some classes.
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The school will run a half-day schedule until the middle of October. While some were glad to be back, others wished the district waited.
"I just feel like we needed more time, a little more time to come back," Folgar said.
Carter believed the school needed even more security.
According to school officials, 88% of the students returned to the classroom on Tuesday. They thank everyone for their continued support of the school community.