Evergreen High School students returned to campus on Thursday morning, two weeks after a shooting shocked the small town.

Parents stood on the sideline, holding signs of support. More than 100 posters from Colorado cities, spanning from Telluride to Steamboat Springs, lined the school’s halls, sharing condolences and words of encouragement.

“It was difficult, for sure,” Tyler Guyton, a senior and one of two student body presidents, said. “For the past week, people have been trying to ignore it, but it’s hard to ignore it when you’re back in the school and see the posters on the wall, the new tiles and all that stuff.”

The staff had returned to the school Monday.

Thursday and Friday are “gradual” days for the students, with classes only running from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., including “connection” activities and lunch.

The school also plans to hold “gradual” days on Sept. 29-30 and resume full class schedules on Oct. 1.

“As we move forward together, there is one thing I am certain of — this school and this community hold the most incredible, the most courageous people I have ever known,” Principal Skyler Artes said in a video.

One of those group activities on Thursday, Guyton said, was discussing the new safety protocols put in place by the district.

When alleged shooter Desmond Holly, 16, entered the school with a revolver during lunch period on Sept. 10 — he critically injured two students and killed himself, authorities said — the full-time school resource officer (SRO) was on medical leave. Meanwhile, a deputy who assumed those policing duties on a part-time basis was working on a traffic crash nearby, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had said.

In response, the sheriff’s office and Jeffco Public Schools announced that they will assign 14 full-time SROs to 12 Jeffco middle and high schools in unincorporated parts of the county chosen by the district, including in Evergreen High School.

The new full-time SRO at Evergreen is Deputy Odie Tucker.

Furthermore, the school will also have an armed Jeffco safety and security officer employed by the district, four full-time campus supervisors from the district’s safety team and video monitoring by the Jeffco Dispatch Center, according to a news release from the district earlier this week.

A community comes together

“From an hour after the incident till today, there has been constant support,” Guyton said of the Evergreen community coming together to support the students.

About 600 students were away from the campus during the shooting on a lunch break, while another 200 had remained in the halls, Guyton said.

The tragedy has struck them all, he said.

“Students are going to reconcile that they need some help, and the trauma doesn’t just go away after a week or two,” he said. “We have to face the harsh reality that it happened to us, but we have to get through it together.”

Guyton said the community has done a wonderful job.

The school staff was prepared to support anyone on Thursday, local restaurants have offered free food to students for the past two weeks and every student will be receiving a handwritten letter of encouragement from a community member in the next few days.

“In hearing from the community at EHS, I know there is a wide range of feelings about returning to school. Some feel ready, while others are not,” Rep. Tammy Story of Evergreen told The Denver Gazette. “It’s important that we are patient, we listen and we support our students, teachers, and staff no matter where they are in the process. Healing takes time, and this community has shown incredible resilience. They are processing a great deal after such a traumatic incident, and I want them to know my door is always open if they wish to reach out.”

While some may be uneasy returning to classes after the tragedy, Guyton said the normalcy and being around peers might help.

“We’re still kids. It’s our job just to be educated and to get back to school and some sort of routine,” Guyton said. “Nobody’s past two weeks have been normal. Everybody’s response has been drastically different, but one common theme between the majority of kids is that they want to get back to school and some sort of routine.”

Update on victims

Two students were critically injured and rushed to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood following the shooting.

One of the victims, 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, is still in critical condition.

“All of us are heartbroken by what happened, but we are also deeply grateful that Matthew survived,” the family said in a public statement last week. “Doctors have let us know that Matthew will likely require lifelong, full-time care.”

A GoFundMe for Silverstone and his family has raised over $463,000 in less than two weeks.

The family said on Monday that they are seeing signs of improvement every day.

The second victim, an unnamed 14-year-old boy, is also still in critical condition, according to a statement from the family Thursday. The family asked to remain anonymous.

“In those terrifying moments, our son showed a level of bravery, strength and will to survive that no child should ever be asked to display,” the family said. “He and his friend confronted the assailant, which undoubtedly allowed time for more students to flee and the school to lock down. This life-altering encounter happened before alarms were set off or lockdown announcements made.”

The student was shot at close range, but was able to escape, warn other students and make it to a first responder for immediate attention. A librarian also pointed him in direction of the exit.

After multiple surgeries, the student has been able to communicate in writing, first asking about the safety and health of everyone else at the school, the family said.

The family added that adults responsible for taking care of children must take real, meaningful actions.

“These children need more than momentary sympathy and support; they need lasting commitment. Stand with them and for them for the duration. Our immediate priority is our son’s recovery. Moving forward, we are committed to working together to ensure the long-term safety and wellbeing of all our children,” the family said.

Regarding the investigation into the shooting, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that it is continuing to look into the incident, alongside an investigation by the FBI.

The sheriff’s office said the alleged shooter acted alone, and no evidence of a “so-called ‘hit list’ or any intelligence suggesting an ongoing threat to the school, its students or staff” has been found.