Could it happen in Stoneham?
Published on April 28th, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - Last Tuesday began as a picture perfect day for the student population of Stoneham. It was a bright and sunny April vacation respite from the homework and tests that batter children day in and day out between the months of September and June.
For Melissa Callan, a Stoneham High School senior, the day was used for one of her favorite pastimes - shopping. All that came to an end, however, at about 3 pm in a downtown Wakefield store.
"I was in a store in Wakefield when I saw it on TV," she remembered. "I just sat down on the floor and watched it on TV with a guy that worked there. I was shocked."
Columbine's far reaching effect
What Callan is talking about, of course, is the horrific tragedy that unfolded at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The murder of 12 students, one teacher and subsequent suicide of the two murder suspects sent a shockwave through the nation, eventually striking fear and sympathy into the hearts of Stoneham residents and causing Callan to sit motionless for 20 minutes.
"I think anyone who works in schools always sits and hopes that horrific events don't happen in the school you work in," Stoneham High School Principal Thomas Ryan said of the murderous rampage. "The human emotions of people's losses really hit home.
"My first reaction was what would we do if that kind of situation happened here."
According to SHS Vice Principal James Campagna, Jr., "As a parent, I just have to empathize and sympathize. You just can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child to anything, whether it be cancer or a car accident."
According to Stoneham schools' Director of Guidance William Murphy, the emotional trauma in cases such as this is widespread.
"It's probably the worst thing that could happen to a parent. It's not just the tragedy to the community, but the kind of scars that it leaves on the kids."
Callan said that the fact that the Columbine incident occurred over April vacation may have helped students deal with their emotions.
"I guess for a lot of us, seeing these things on TV, you sort of question other people. I think everyone looks around and says 'Could it happen here?' Of course it could.
"It's tough," she continued.
"I guess I was shocked when I heard about it. I guess I was glad that we weren't in school. That sort of gave everyone a chance to take a step back and think about it."
Preventing violence
How can educators prevent a similar incident from happening in Stoneham's schools?
This is a question that educators around the country are trying to cope with, but, as Ryan will tell you, there are no easy answers.
"You're always watchful that what's going on in school should be going on in school," he said. "We have to know what the hot spots are on any given day and we certainly feel that it's a safe place to be.
"You can't lose that basic trust that the school's safe."
Ryan said that it all boils down to the child. Children who are loners and who have mental disorders tend to be the perpetrators in recent school shootings. Sometimes parents and teachers can take note of these problems and reach out in time to prevent such tragedies from occurring, he said, but not always.
"They (the suspects) could live in any school district. It's not really that particular school," he said.
Campagna agreed, saying, "To look around your school to pick out a kid who would do this type of thing is probably impossible. I think where we deal with loners that if somebody tries to set up a relationship where that person has somebody to talk to, these things could be averted."
Ryan also said that parents must bear a certain amount of responsibility for their children and must remain involved in their lives.
"One of the things that all these incidents point to is that a lot of planning was done. Everyone needs space, but I think parents should stay aware of what their sons and daughters are doing," Ryan said. "Anyone kid who comes home from school at 2 o'clock and doesn't interact with someone until the next day has a lot of time to sit and think and mull things over.
"What are they doing with all that time?" he continued. "Closing the door and talking to someone on the phone is normal for a student, but closing the door and working on a computer for 10 to 12 hours isn't."
According to Ryan, the recent rash of public school shootings has put the American population on edge. While parents should be aware of what's going on around the country, he stated, they should not be overly afraid for their child's safety.
"One incident a year like this sounds awful, but when you consider that you have 53 million kids in school every day, I wouldn't call it an epidemic," the principal said.
Problems and possible solutions
In most schools and in most classes, students tend to form friendships with the people who are most similar to them. These cliques many times tend to be exclusive groups - excluding those with different opinions, ways of dress and interests.
According to Ryan, the same can be said for SHS.
"That's a universal situation. There's no school that doesn't have the same thing," the principal said. "If you go to a bank, you'll see people eating lunch with their group.
"But everyone who comes to Stoneham High School as a student has a right to be here. They also have a right not to be harassed."
Callan, who is president of the High School Council, says that her peers are a tight knit group.
"Since our class is small, everyone knows each other and everyone knows each other's business. I think that makes us pretty close. There are cliques, but I think there's a lot of crossover (between groups)," she explained.
According to Ryan, teaching respect is the most important element of school harmony.
"That's the message that you have to get across. Being different isn't good or bad. It's just different," he said.
"You try to cut down on the intolerance," Campagna added. "All of those things are a lot more effective than locking your doors."
The Stoneham school administrative staff also seems to be dead set against school uniforms and metal detectors, a move that some school systems have installed in recent years.
"I think our time and effort should be spent more wisely on something other than school uniforms," Ryan stated. "That doesn't prevent violence from occurring."
Murphy agreed, saying, "I don't think uniforms would prevent what happened. That's just an oversimplification of the problem."
On the subject of metal detectors, Ryan stated, "We never had any call for them and we've never had any reason to believe that we need one."
He explained that, during his tenure as principal, the school has had no incidents involving weapons of any kind.
Dealing with emotions
Ryan said that he and his staff immediately began discussing what tactics they would take to help students deal with the psychological problems that result from such a tragedy. The fruit of this effort was a letter to all faculty members detailing how they should lead students in group discussions of the incident. Ryan said that other measures may be taken to reinforce the fact that students can talk to faculty members at any time about their problems.
According to Campagna, this open door policy is the most basic and useful tool in dealing with student issues and dealing with violent situations before they happen.
"I think one of the things you do to try to make (school) a safe place is open the lines of communication between parents, teachers and students. We tell them to report things no matter how far-fetched it is. That's probably the best shot," he said.
"Most kids show some signs of what they want to do (in terms of violence). We really do try to open that line of communication. We tell (students) to tell someone if things don't seem right."
According to Callan, her peers need to know their options and need to use these options when dealing with emotional problems.
"I hope that people learn there are people to go and talk to," she said.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!