NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Heritage High School students returned to their building for in-person learning Wednesday morning following a shooting last month that injured two students.
Buses and cars filled the school's parking lot, but the return is unsettling for some parents.
"I don't like my son being here but he has no choice coming back to school," said Yulanea Simpson, a parent of a son attending Heritage High School.
"Any parent would be nervous and I'm very, very nervous," parent Kim Osborne said.
Kim Osborne dropped her daughter off this morning. Over the last month, they talked about staying safe inside the building. They even developed code names for emergencies while she's at school.
"We have code words for everything," Osborne said. "We just took matters into our own hands. We have to sometimes."
Newport News Public Schools Superintendent Dr. George Parker III said newly implemented safety measures ran smoothly as students entered the building.
"It's good to see the community supporting the students returning and even our security measures didn't take that long to get the kids through," Dr. Parker said.
Six security guards are stationed at the school and a seventh is on the top floor monitoring Huntington Middle School students. Middle school students have been learning from the top floor of the high school. Huntington Middle returned to the building Monday.
The division is also increasing random bus and classroom searches along with the use of metal detectors. Dr. Parker said the safety plan can be adjusted later down the road.
"We want staff and students to feel comfortable in the school knowing that there are efforts in place to make sure that illegal items aren't being brought on campus," he said.
Osborne said she’s just trying to breathe throughout the day as her daughter is back in the building where so much chaos ensued.
"It's just a new beginning, a new start," Osborne said. "We'll see what comes out of it."
Superintendent Dr. Parker said the division has enhanced its text alert system since the shooting. The division will send messages to parents faster if there's another emergency.
Dr. Parker says division leaders are also working with Newport News Juvenile Court after learning the 15-year-old who shot two students had a previous charge against him.
The division asked the court to notify them if a student has been arrested for violent crimes. If so, he said that the student could be transferred to the alternative school Enterprise Academy where students have been placed for juvenile charges.