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Published on 04/28/1999 All articles from this issue

Local schools honor the fallen, reach out in wake of Columbine shooting tragedy

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Flags flew at half-staff on local school campuses last week in response to the shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. on April 20 that left 12 students, one teacher and the two student gunmen dead.

Teachers locally described students as subdued, saddened, shocked, upset and scared that something similar could happen at their schools - which bear striking similarities to Littleton, an upscale, mostly white, suburban community.

Despite the historically low incidence of weapons on local campuses and the quieter-than-usual climate at local schools over the past year, Brent Butler, schools resource officer for the Los Altos Police Department, said a tragedy similar to the one in Littleton "absolutely" could happen here.

"There's much more of a variety of students (in the cities)," he said.

Marge Gratiot, superintendent of the Los Altos School District, said teachers spoke about the tragedy and held an emergency drill, showing students where to exit their classrooms during an emergency.

"The children were a little upset. It helped to talk about it and how safe they felt on campus," Gratiot said.

Gratiot said she believes district schools are safe.

"I like to think we have pretty close contact with our children," she said. "That sort of alienation is a really good reason to keep our schools as small as possible, so the adults know every child."

Trish Bubenick, superintendent of the Mountain View School District, said teachers were "keeping their antennas up. The last thing we want to do is sensationalize (the killings)."

At Mountain View High School, students observed a moment of silence before taking the state's STAR test. They wore blue and silver ribbons - Columbine's colors - and wrote messages to the survivors on a poster at lunch.

"It was stunning. School is supposed to be safe," said Carrie Morrison, a freshman at Mountain View High School. "It's a scary thought that it can happen at your school. I look around and see some people who may be a threat, but overall most people are good. I'm trying to keep a smile and say 'hi.' It feels better and that passes on to others."

Monique Kane, clinical director at the Community Health Awareness Council in Mountain View, said talking to students about the event is the best way to deal with their concerns. She said none of the school principals called for additional counselors on site at any of the schools, but the counselors regularly scheduled on the campuses were on site and available.

"This is a strong reminder on school campuses that we need to reach out to alienated kids," said Mary Burkhardt, development director at the Community Health Awareness Council.

Butler said communication is key in preventing a situation such as the one in Littleton.

"If someone had come forward, it could have been prevented," he said. "Kids know a lot that goes on that parents don't know about."

He said parents need to look at their children's' Web sites, listen to their music and spend time talking with them.

Butler said he does not foresee metal detectors at Los Altos High School, which he described as an "open campus" with many entrances and exits.

Butler said weapons have not been a problem at the school. He said there has not been one incident of a weapon on campus this school year.

"There's always cliques and probably always will be cliques. There's a lot of awareness in our particular schools," Kane said. "When school (officials) see a kid who is alienated, they head them right into the (counseling) offices."

The California State PTA and the California Wellness Foundation will hold a statewide video conference at 9 a.m., May 6 called "Keeping Youth Safe, The Critical After-School Hours." For more information, call (415) 332-4024 or go to

videoconference@preventviolence.org or www.preventviolence.org.