Apalachee High School students will return to class this week for the first time since a deadly shooting that claimed four lives. The school will host an open house for returning students and their families on Sept. 23.
“We will be there to welcome you back with open arms and answer your questions as you connect with teachers, see classmates and visit our remote location we’re calling CHEE East,” a notice on the school website states.
The school has been closed since Sept. 4 when a 14-year-old student opened fire, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others. Officials charged him as an adult on four counts of felony murder.
The hall where the deadly shootings occurred will remain closed for the rest of the school year, according to the Barrow County School System. The high school will bus students to an off-site location for social studies classes.
Phased reopening
As part of Apalachee’s phased reopening plan, students will attend half days through Oct. 4. Students will report to school at 8:15 a.m. with shortened class periods and be dismissed at 12:40 p.m.
Apalachee students will resume class full time on Oct. 14 when they return from fall break.
“We’re stronger together. We’re all going to have good days, bad days, plenty of ups and downs in between, but you aren’t alone in this,” Barrow County School Superintendent Dr. Dallas LeDuff said in a recorded message earlier this month.
Additional counselors will be on campus to provide mental health support to the returning students. Also, during Monday’s open house, students will have the opportunity to create a small piece of art to be added to a larger mosaic that will eventually be displayed on campus.
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