CHARLESTON, W.Va. — He’s the charter member of a club nobody wants to join. It’s how Frank DeAngelis helps offer support to school administrators in the wake of violent incidents in schools when called upon.
“There’s that instant credibility,” said DeAngelis. “We offer support for each other.”
DeAngelis was the principal at Columbine High School on that horrible day in 1999 when two students went on a shooting rampage which left 13 students dead. He’s stuck with some heartbreaking images from that day. One in particularly was at a nearby elementary school where students were brought to be reunited with their parents.
“Kids would be escorted out of the building by police, placed on school busses, and brought to the elementary school,” he explained. “As the night went on there were still parents there, but there were no more busses coming. Looking at the parents and the grief in their heart is something that will remain with me for the rest of my life.”
DeAngelis will deliver the keynote address at Thursday’s Safe Schools Summit in Charleston. He’s now retired and travels the country speaking to schools about the incident and about how to look for the signs and keep it from happening again. DeAngelis stayed at Columbine High School for 15 more years. He said he initially committed to staying until that year’s freshman class graduated, but realized after talking to his priest that wasn’t enough.
“I felt in order to built up the community, I made a promise to be there until every kid who was in elementary school in the Columbine area graduated and that was in 2012. Then I had a parent tell me they had a kid who was in pre-school so I stayed an additional year,” he said. “When I finally left we had successfully rebuilt that community.”
Although he’ll forever be linked to that terrible day and he shares his memories, the Columbine tragedy isn’t the centerpiece of DeAngelis’ message.
“I do share the information about that day, but I also talk about hope. I talk about my faith and recovery,” he said. “Most importantly how do we take care of our kids? How do you build a community of hope? How do you build a community of acceptance?”
DeAngelis not only lived through the horror, but also has the experience of rebuilding a community which he believes is his greatest accomplishment as a school administrator.