This morning Jefferson Junior/Senior High School students, teachers and staff remembered the victims of the Parkland school shooting with an assembly. Student leaders at Jefferson brought together the Jefferson community to take time to pause and think about how to improve the school culture at Jefferson. During the morning assembly names of the Parkland victims were read and moments of silence were observed.
In the days leading up to the assembly, student leaders at Jefferson came up with a list of growth areas for the culture at Jefferson. During the assembly students joined teachers in speaking to these growth areas and encouraged students to take responsibility for creating a safe and encouraging school culture. These growth areas were listed on boxes in the middle of the gym during the assembly.
Jefferson Principal Michael James rallied the students and staff to invest in changing the school culture while remembering Parkland students, “Today we will be Parkland Strong. Tomorrow we will be Jefferson Strong.” He explained that the growth areas displayed in the center of the gym symbolized the wall keeping Jefferson from becoming a great school.
Following the assembly students were given seventeen minutes to reflect and act on the issues discussed. Some students followed the example of other schools and walked out during that time. Other students wrote postcards to Colorado State Senator Andy Kerr and Representative Jessie Danielson encouraging them to pass measures to ensure safety in school and concerning gun safety.
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
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