Schools across the nation held a second national student walkout Friday in effort to end school violence and to change control laws.
Friday was also the 19th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School.
The previous student walkout March 14, which was the one month anniversary of the devastating school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Rather than walking out for just 17 minutes, this time students walked out of schools at 10 a.m. for the remainder of the school day.
However, a few local schools within Fulton and Montgomery County chose to do something different rather than have students walk out and go against schools code of conduct.
The following is what local schools did:
∫ Faculty and staff at Amsterdam High School worked with students who wanted to voice their opinion on school violence, bullying and gun control laws by setting up tables in the school with petitions for the students to sigh to get Congress to change laws. Congressman Paul Tonko also made an appearance at the school to listen to students advocate for an end to school violence on issues such as bullying and gun safety.
∫ At Canajoharie High School, Principal Rebecca Gleason worked with representatives of the student body to discuss alternative plans to participating in the walkout. The school held a school safety program on responding to high threat incidents in school which was presented to the students Friday. They also set up a time for students who signed up ahead of time to engage in further discussion. Any students who did choose to participate in the walkout would face consequences of either detention or in-school suspension according to the district’s Code of Conduct.
∫ Students at Broadalbin-Perth Central School District, student had the option to wear orange in support to end school violence. Although the district did not have anything specific planned for Friday, the schools have been working with the student since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Since the shooting, faculty and staff have been working with students on “acts of kindness.”
∫ Northville Central School District had a half day on Friday and none of the students participated in the walkout. However, faculty and staff were willing to work with students if anyone did want to do something regarding the walkout or an alternative, but none of the students chose to do so.
∫ Fonda-Fultonville School District also did an alternative to the student walkout on Friday. The superintendent and high school principal could not be reached Thursday or Friday to specify what that alternative was.
