After the tragedy that took place last week, many students have voiced their opinion on the necessary actions needed for AAHS to respond. For assistant principal Jason McGinnis, an immediate response may not solve the problem efficiently. 

“Anytime we experience tragedy, everybody has an opinion and everybody has a thought. What’s important in those times of tragedy is that we allow the community as a whole to grieve in that process. Often times, when we experience this, we want to try and act on it very quickly, but those actions are a result of our emotions,” McGinnis said. 

Last week, the school administration sent out a survey to all students, asking them to describe in one word what they want their school to be. Now, McGinnis and assistant principals Shane Cowher and Vince Nedimyer are taking action to achieve what the students requested.

“The overwhelming response [to the survey] was two words: safe and caring. Our plan is to talk about the tragedy that took place and address that again in a more formal setting. Then, we will go into the ideas and things that we [principals and administration] have come up with and what we’re looking for to keep our school, our classrooms and our halls safe and secure,” McGinnis said. 

Currently, McGinnis, as well as the other assistant principals, are still in the process of gathering suggestions from students.

“We want to hear what the students have to say. I listen and I ask. I hear the teachers [at the faculty meeting] and now I want to hear the students, and the next step will be an action plan and what that looks like,” McGinnis said.

Assistant principals will be coming to English classes starting Tuesday to discuss future plans and ideas.

“We’re looking at starting a student panel that will work with the assistant principals that can be the voice. You have the choice to be part of what we’re doing and a part of our administrative team,” McGinnis said.

For McGinnis, communication is the key to growing and developing as a community.

“If you think something that we’re doing isn’t right, help us out and let us know what we can do better. We want to hear that. The only way we are going to improve as a school is if we keep those lines of communication open,” McGinnis said.