EVERGREEN, Colo. — Wednesday marks two weeks since a 16-year-old student opened fire at Evergreen High School, seriously injuring two of his peers before turning the gun on himself.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has credited the quick actions of teachers and students inside the school with saving countless lives.
Frank DeAngelis, who was the principal of Columbine High School during the 1999 shooting, noticed his phone light up with text messages on Sept. 10. Members of the press then began calling DeAngelis.
He told Denver7 instantly knew what had happened: another school shooting.
"This one's tough because Evergreen is part of JeffCo," DeAngelis said. "One of the first things people say is, 'I can't believe it happened here.' And if you would have told me it could happen at Columbine, I would have said, 'No way.'"
Before becoming the principal at Columbine, DeAngelis was a teacher and coach. He has several memories of going to Evergreen High School for games and such.
DeAngelis also remembers how much support he and the Littleton community received following the 1999 shooting. DeAngelis said he visited Evergreen HS to learn how he could best help their community.
"We can all go through the same event, but how we deal with it, we deal with it differently," DeAngelis said. "We have to see what they want and what they need... For example, we had so many people that wanted to bring flowers and teddy bears and different things, and we greatly appreciated the generosity. But so many times, when those teddy bears were placed outside, or flowers, our students and staff would be retraumatized because it would remind them of that day. There's ways to honor them, but we have to realize what Evergreen wants, and every community is different, and so, what can we do?"
Once DeAngelis learns what Evergreen High School needs, he is committed to supporting them every step of the way.
"The message is, it's not just going to be for the next month. We're going to be there for the entire journey," said DeAngelis.
- Watch the full interview with Frank DeAngelis in the video player below:
The shooting at Columbine High School happened near the end of the school year. DeAngelis said he wanted to ensure all of the students, staff, and faculty could attend the 13 memorial services, which is why they took two weeks away from school. Then, Chatfield High School opened its doors to the Columbine community, so the two schools shared one space to conclude the semester.
"We had all summer to get ready, and we could not finish at Columbine because our building was just destroyed," DeAngelis said. "With Evergreen, with school just starting now, they have to get back into the building and do things of that nature."
By the time students returned to Columbine, the building had undergone reconstruction.
Evergreen High School Principal Dr. Skyler Artes said the Jeffco Public Schools facilities team has "gone above and beyond" to restore and repair the school after an initial cleaning by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
"For the most part, our school looks just as it did at the start of the year," Artes wrote in a letter to the school community. "There are a few small changes, such as replaced floor tiles and new carpet."
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Evergreen HS is working through a gradual reintroduction to school this week, after canceling classes for the week and a half following the shooting.
Staff returned to the building on Monday to "prepare for the weeks ahead." Parents and caregivers were invited to attend two information sessions, held by the National Mass Violence Center, to learn best practices when it comes to helping children who have experienced mass violence.
Parents and students are invited to attend an open house walk-through at Evergreen High School on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday will be half-days for students, and they will be able to "choose from activity options that they feel most comfortable with." There will be no classes, and lunch and buses will be provided.
The school plans to reintroduce classroom learning early next week during half-days.
The schedule was decided with the help of survey responses from students, teachers and staff. According to JeffCo Public Schools, 85% of students and 72% of families completed the survey. More than 66% of students indicated a need for "regular updates on school safety."
"If a kid doesn't feel safe, you could have the best curriculum, [but] they're not going to learn," DeAngelis said. "There's so many things that we've learned. And I know in JeffCo, they do a great job of training our administrators, who train our teachers to help these students."
Students, staff, and families who were not ready to return to campus this week will be placed on personalized plans.
Janet Damon, the 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year, believes the reintroduction plan to Evergreen High School provides the community with time and space to heal.
"What I've seen, and what I believe is so powerful, is that the Evergreen community has really embraced and shown up strongly to send messages of love and hope and support for their teachers, but also recognizing that healing is a thing that takes time," she said.
Damon, who is a history teacher at DELTA High School in Denver Public Schools, said there is nothing harder than for fellow educators to see an act of violence occur on a school campus.
"For those of us who have had students lost to gun violence, it is only a reminder of how important it is to create ways to protect our students, to really put their safety at the forefront," Damon said. "Teachers get placed in this precarious position where you're grieving, but you also have to support those who are grieving."
Damon believes all schools across Colorado need more mental health support for teachers, staff, and students.
"We really want to make sure that there's investments into the mental health of our teachers, so that they have resilience, so they can stay in this profession, doing this work that is increasingly challenging. And that also we can promote these resources for our students and model for them what it looks like to care for ourselves while also being present in the moment for each other," Damon explained. "It's going to have to be a sort of ecosystem that we design and develop that is holistic and meets the needs of the whole child and also the whole educator."
She has one message for teachers at Evergreen High School this week: educators across Colorado are standing behind them.
"We care about you, and I just want those families to know that we're just going to continue to work for our schools to be the safest places for learning and for joy," said Damon.
JeffCo Public Schools has detailed its return to learning plan online, which will evolve as the weeks progress.
