-Martin Luther King, Jr.

BY STEVE POWELL

spowell@marysvilleglobe.com

MARYSVILLE – A year ago was the worst day in Marysville school history.

But rather than look away, Marysville and Tulalip Tribes officials worked to open communications so another tragedy won’t happen.

Schools superintendent Becky Berg said listening to students is key.

“The best prevention is having relationships with kids so they will share concerns,” Berg said.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said one thing parents learned is to watch social media. Classes were taught this year to teach parents to look out for red flags.

“The walls are slowly coming down. The culture’s starting to change,” he said of kids letting others know when they are worried about a friend.

Adults also need to be involved.

“There’s a great awareness to be involved in kids’ lives,” he added. “We need to be aware of our own family and friends and watch out for one another.”

 

Oct. 24 remembrance

On Oct. 24, 2014, a Friday, a distraught Marysville-Pilchuck freshman killed four friends and then himself in the high school cafeteria.

Upon reflection, even after reading hundreds upon hundreds of pages of investigative reports, Berg still has a hard time believing it happened.

“We had the unthinkable happen last year,” she said. “I don’t know how you could know anything” like that was going to occur.

In remembrance of the victims, MPHS is having A Walk of Strength Saturday; gates at the school will open at 9 a.m. A brief ceremony and time of reflection will take place at 10:39 a.m. The community event will include a 1.6-mile walk around the high school and the opportunity to plant 10,000 tulip bulbs beneath the football field scoreboard. The tribes provided about 2,000 t-shirts for school students, faculty and volunteers for the walk.

“The Marysville and Tulalip communities are defined by our coming together to heal and chart a course of recovery,” Berg has said. “We will never forget, but we are united and are working to create a better, more hope-filled future.”

 

No more mental health stigma

Both Berg and Nehring said one of the best improvements for the community has been an increase in mental health resources.

“It’s healthy to talk about mental health without the stigma attached,” Nehring said. “It’s a big piece of the problems in society.”

Berg said going forward mental health of students has to be part of the equation at schools. Out-of-school factors are so important in teaching the whole child that counseling should play more of a role, she added.

Berg said many students have been amazing about seeking emotional support.

“A lot want to go somewhere and talk and open up, talk about their feelings,” she said. “It’s safer to talk about mental health, which is critical to overall health.”

Along with the social services community, Nehring said the faith community also has stepped up in a “dramatic way. They did whatever they could do to help, with no strings attached.”

 

School safety

School security also is something that has improved.

Nehring said the school district re-evaluated its security and did whatever it could to make sure it’s safe and secure as much as possible for students. Part of that is the school resource officers, which soon will be increasing to five. Nehring said students develop relationships with them and learn to trust the officers. So if something goes wrong, they are not afraid to talk to them.

Also, out of school, the officers go to places where students hang out, to keep in touch with them, through the Youth Services Unit.

Berg also said SROs have been outstanding.

“The city does a great job of picking officers who will connect with kids,” Berg said.

With heightened anxiety due to the anniversary, the SROs had daily visibility this week on the M-P campus.

 

Closer community

Berg said the community has become closer in the past year. Partnerships have formed, and they are more united.

“It’s not one big happy family, but I see more unity than a divide,” she added.

Nehring agreed that while there was a sense of community before the tragedy, it actually brought everyone closer.

“We helped people through difficult times by loving, caring and supporting one another,” he said.

Berg credited the Recovery Committee with playing an important role along with pastors, agencies, the tribes, the city and the district.

“They keep coming, keep caring. It’s phenomenal how selfless people are at times,” she said.

 

Memorial next

Berg said a memorial for the victims will be the district’s next project. As for the cafeteria, ground will be broken to build a new one in December. A new evacuation site also is being planned.

“It took an emotional toll” on students returning to that site during a bomb threat last year that came after the shooting, she said.

The schools chief said she talked with local police chiefs about things to be looking for around the anniversary.

“Some can’t move on. They have hidden things,” Berg said about pent-up emotions.

 

Somber anniversary

Nehring said he is somber about the anniversary of the shooting.

“It brings back memories of the dark days,” he said. “The remembrance of families who lost their loved ones, and the kids and first responders who saw it and will never get it out of their minds.”

But like it says on the MP Memorial Foundation website, “Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed, it means the damage no longer controls our lives.”

With a similar thought, Nehring said, “We need to continue to heal and move forward as a strong community.”