A year ago, when the early morning of Sept. 11 unfolded in a
confusion of news bits, Douglas County School District teachers and
administrators tried to keep students informed with age-appropriate
information while providing them with a sense of safety and
normalcy.
Most schools will follow the same formula again this year as the
district prepares for the first anniversary of the Sept. 11
attacks.
Schools were given suggested guidelines about how to address the
anniversary, but each principal planned the activities for the
day.
“School principals know their communities better than the
district does, so they decided on what was appropriate for their
school,” said district spokesperson Bruce Caughey.
Most schools will follow some of the suggested ideas such as
lowering the school flag to half-staff, providing a moment of
silence, singing patriotic songs and encouraging students to dress
in red, white and blue.
Many schools will have their psychologists or counselors
available during the day for students or staff members who need
emotional support.
The reflection on last year’s attacks will vary depending on age
groups. Most elementary schools plan a patriotic ceremony in the
morning followed by a day of regular classes.
“We are going to try to carry on as normal of a day as
possible,” said Lee Cooper, assistant principal of Pioneer
Elementary. “Our teachers will answer any questions students have,
but they are not going to bring it up.”
Depending on how much they learn at home, many of the students
might not be fully aware of what the day means.
“We provide some role in explaining what happened, but that is
really the role of the family to do what they feel is appropriate,”
he said.
High school students, many of whom are at or the near the age of
adulthood, will have the opportunity to participate in more
dialogue about the events.
Social studies classes at Chaparral High School will be
dedicated to discussing the events of that day, what has happened
since and what might happen in the future, said principal Ron
Peterson.
“Keeping classes normal is just not going to happen, and I am
not sure if it should happen,” he said. “We are a community of
learners here. We need to be able to express feelings and learn
from this. To ignore that would be wrong.”
Chaparral will try to use the day as a time of remembrance and
reflection of the day when staff members broke into classrooms over
the intercom to provide the school with up-to-date information
about the events taking place on the East Coast.
Peterson predicts that during certain times of the day, the
anniversary will be similar to the day when the saddened and numb
student body reflected the emotions of most Americans.
“I think it will be a very somber and reflective time where
people will think back at where was I during this day,” Peterson
said.