Day of Service hits students, educators differently 8 years after MSD shooting

While most of the Ramblewood Elementary School students were too young to remember Valentine’s Day 2018 — the reason they they had a service-oriented, early-release day on Friday — they knew they were helping other kids by packing bags of food.

After Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn led the school in a moment of silence for the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the students began stuffing bags with mini cereal boxes, noodles and diced fruit cups that would be donated through a local church.

“It makes me feel nice to feel that I’m donating to kids that don’t have as much stuff as people do here, and giving food,” fifth grader Ryan Unger said. “And it’s also good to honor the kids of (Stoneman) Douglas High School who sadly passed and those who went through that scary time.”

Ryan and her fifth grade classmate Madison Marcus were on FaceTime one day when Madi suggested working with her church for this year’s Day of Service and Love at their Coral Springs school.

“I feel really proud and good in my heart, and probably all of our hearts, that we’re helping kids in need, and we’re dedicating it to the tragedy that happened,” Madi said.

They brought it up to their Student Council advisor and guidance counselor Darcy Dodge, who’s an MSD alum.

“The kids that I work with year after year, I find that it’s important to just continue the tradition of giving, showing love, showing kindness, and trying really hard to instill this in them for their futures,” Dodge said. “The more you show this, the more you give, the better the world will be to, God willing, avoid these tragedies in the future.”

Remembering the tragedy

Across the county, public schools partake in a Day of Service and Love in remembrance of the 14 students and three staff members who were killed in the attack by a former MSD student in Parkland. Seventeen more were injured.

“I pray they don’t ever have to be in a situation where they have to be scared to go to school, they have to fear for their lives,” Dodge said.

Ramblewood principal Dacyany Ibarrondo said teachers have to be sensitive in discussing what happened with students and limit certain details when explaining why they’re doing the day of service. Parents are welcome to have further conversations with their kids.

“We focus on the power of love, the power of helping your community and the power of coming together as a team,” Ibarrondo said.

School board member Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa died in the shooting, joined the superintendent at Ramblewood after visiting MSD earlier in the day. They spoke about the importance of school safety and community to prevent future tragedies.

“Alyssa would love to be here seeing what our students are doing,” Alhadeff said. “Alyssa went to a homeless shelter and she was giving out food to the homeless. And so I know Alyssa is watching and looking down and so honored what our students are doing for service and love.”

Hepburn and Alhadeff also commended the legislative steps taken since the shooting to make Broward schools safer, including the passage of Alyssa’s Law, which gives teachers and classrooms panic buttons for emergencies, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.

Recently, Florida lawmakers have attempted to reverse a provision of that safety act and return the minimum age for buying a long gun to 18 years old, from 21.

“It’s so important that we don’t water down this bill and keep it as is, because at the end of the day, it’s saving lives,” Alhadeff said.

Day of Service through different eyes

At Driftwood Elementary School in Hollywood, students marched onto the basketball court and spelled out LOVE. At Silver Shores STEAM Academy K-8 in Miramar, roughly 400 students and staff gathered on their basketball court to sing, “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, taught by music teacher Krystal Romano.

Romano was a first-year teacher in 2018 when the tragedy unfolded.

“With this event and doing something musical, where they can actually participate in it, not just be a spectator of the event, or just to remember the event, but actually participate in something and to see their contribution of what they felt today, I think that it does something better than we can ever put into words ourselves,” she said.

While the day revolves around the students’ acts of service, the time to reflect on what happened largely lands on the adults. Many still remember exactly where they were when they found out what was unfolding in Parkland the afternoon of Feb. 14, 2018.

“Our oldest bunch … eight years ago they were anywhere between 3 and 5…” Silver Shores Principal Jonathan Leff said. “Our kids are out there and they’re singing, ‘What a Wonderful World.’ And again, the message is love and peace and unity and family and community. For us, you know, it has a little more meaning as the adults who were in the district when that happened.”

Even being farther from the epicenter of the tragedy, the Miramar school community still felt the effects deeply.

“When it happened, it was raw, it was so wrong, the emotions were through the roof, and people didn’t know how to respond,” Leff said. “You had people that were angry, sad, confused, upset, and some people had no idea that it even occurred.”

Many kids in Broward schools might grasp what happened — although some were not yet born — but it remains an emotional time for faculty and staff in particular, according to administrators.

“Every adult that was there (on the court) came up to me and just told me how moved they were,” Romano said. “Some people actually did cry.”

At Coral Springs Middle School, less than 2 miles from Stoneman Douglas, students did different activities by subject, including making kindness and gratitude trees and bracelets with positive messages. On Friday, attendance was roughly half of what it normally is.

“Today is a somber day. It’s a day of remembrance,” Principal Jill Slesinski said. “It’s an emotional day, but it’s also a day that we think about what our role is as educators. And I think it’s just a day where we realize what matters most, and what matters most is being there for our kids and for one another.”

She said staff were leaning on each other a little extra today.

“Much of my staff and teachers have been here for quite some time, and many of them are wearing the MSD Strong shirts today,” she said. “And for the students, you know, they understand. They do.”

Supporting students every day

Educators emphasized that watching over students and supporting them doesn’t stop at the district-declared Day of Service and Love.

“As the principal, it’s important for me to ensure that not only my students are OK on this day, but also my staff, the adults,” Ibarrondo said. “We had teachers whose children were at MSD, checking in with them. ‘Are you OK? Is there anything I could do for you?’ Not only today, but throughout the year.”

At Silver Shores, Leff said the faculty takes note when a student walks into school looking sad or is having an off day, and they run triage to make sure the student has support and someone is reaching out.

“I think being real with our students, and showing them love every day, and showing up for them, and also being transparent to them and showing them that we’re humans too,” Romano said. “Yes, we’re here to learn and we’re here to grow, but we also know that you’re a human being, and there’s more to your life than just your scores and just what you do in the building.”

At Coral Springs Middle, students started a Kindness Krew that meets every week with school counselors and a social worker so they can spread positivity “not just today, but every day here at Coral Springs.”

“Oftentimes we get so caught up with school grades and chasing students getting A’s and getting those positive test scores,” Slesinski said. “But when we really take days like today to think about developing the whole child and what that means for us as adults, it’s an emotional, humbling experience.”