National School Walkout: Some Students Walkout Despite Rules

HOUSTON, TX — Not every student in the Houston area who took part in the National School Walkout, actually walked out of their classrooms.

Earlier this week, a list of schools was published online that indicated dozens of schools and thousands of students would honor the memory of those killed at Columbine in 1999, and silently protest gun violence by walking out of their schools, but only a few participated.

The largest protest took place outside Houston City Hall, with several hunndreds Houston ISD students calling for change.

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North of Houston, students at The Woodlands High School and Oak Ridge High School were allowed to walk out for a while for the student-led event, and then return to their classes.

“The events at The Woodlands High School and Oak Ridge High School were not open to the public or media,” Sarah Blakelock, Conroe ISD Communications Director, said in a statement ot Patch.

In Humble ISD, about 75 students at Atascocita High School walked out of their classes to take part in the walkout.

The National School Walkout planned for April 20 — the 19th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 12 students and one teacher dead, and raise awareness to gun violence in schools after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida — was observed in different ways at various campuses in the Houston area.

READ: School Walkouts Planned Friday On Columbine's 19th Anniversary

Some school districts who wanted to respect their student’s feelings and beliefs offered alternatives to a physical walkout.

Two of those districts — Cy-Fair ISD and Klein ISD in northwest Harris County — followed this practice.

Nicole Ray, Communications Director in Cy-Fair ISD, said there were no walkouts at any of their campuses and that principals worked with students, and created plans for each campus to participate safely in the movement without walking out.

However, there were still some student protests, particularly at Cy-Creek High School.

In Klein ISD, the event was called a Moment of Solidarity, and sought to unite the entire student body in remembrance of those lost to gun violence without walking out.

Students were allowed 17 minutes to either silently reflect, or write letters to families of those killed in the Parkland, Florida shooting.

“Our goal is to ensure that all students feel safe and respected and that students will be supervised whether they choose to participate or stay in class. For safety reasons, students must remain inside the school during this 17-minute time period unless normal protocols for early school departure are followed, and the student is signed out by a parent/guardian,” Klein ISD Communications Director Judy Rimato said in a statement.

This walkout or protest was the third of its kind since the shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The first was planned for March 14, 30 days after the shooting, but many schools in the Houston area were on Spring Break and didn’t participate.

Ten days after the first walkout, protests were held nationwide, including Tranquility Park in Houston, which drew thousands.

Image: Bryan Kirk/Patch: Students of every age took part in a protest at Houston's Tranquility Park last month

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