From Columbine to CU Boulder 

How this teacher educator supports future teachers in the face of school violence

Deena Gumina at the Columbine Memorial next to Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

Deena Gumina was in elementary school in 1999 when a mass shooting at Columbine High School devastated her hometown of Littleton, Colorado and shook the nation. Two decades later, gun violence has become increasingly common, particularly altering U.S. schools and the lives of educators. 

Gumina (PhDEdu’21, MEdu’15, elementary licensure, 2012) graduated from Columbine High School and taught elementary school in Denver before becoming assistant teaching professor in the CU Boulder School of Education, where she sees the emotional toll that gun violence has had on her students as future teachers. Yet, she sees room for hope and change.

Why speak out about challenges aspiring teachers face?

My students came into class the morning after there was a gun-related incident near campus in Boulder. They were scared and not sure what to do. I didn't know what to say. My students were looking to me to say, ‘It's going to be okay.’ But I don't know that. I don't know that they will be safe in their jobs.

How does violence affect your students?

Some students have been in active shooter situations themselves. All of them have been in shooter drills. This has been their reality for their entire educational lives. It’s not new, but it's also impossible to normalize.

We’re all expected to hold this space for our students when we can't even hold it for ourselves: I'm here to be a safe space for you, but I don't feel safe myself. It’s event after event, and there’s never enough time to recover.

How has gun violence in school changed your life?

I was in third grade during the shooting at Columbine, but I have vivid memories of that day. That was the first time many people understood that this could happen. 
It landed on me then, and it lands on me now. I felt it again every time I would do an active shooter drill with my students, because I knew this was real.

Have school shootings shifted how we prepare teachers?

I’m preparing students for a job that we see over and over again is under attack on many levels. It’s not just that your job is hard. Your job can also be dangerous, and that can color everything we do.

Students have to come into class and think about: ‘What would I do if this happened? Where would I put my children? Where would I hide myself? How would I lock the door? Could we get out the window?’

That was really hard for me when I was a teacher. Now it’s equally hard as a teacher educator looking at my college students and telling them, ‘Unfortunately, this is part of the job, even though it shouldn’t be.’ 

What gives you hope amid horrific events?

There is so much hope in the youth, among our college and high school students. In March, students in Denver took their mental health day to protest at the Colorado State Capitol (following local gun violence). They are not okay with this. It’s not a hypothetical situation for them in the way I think it is for many of the adults who make policy decisions.

Students here at the university and those who are facing this in high school are so strong and resilient. It’s time that adults show up for them. It’s not enough to just be sad anymore.

How are teachers taking action?

I think action is possible if we continue to show up. It's my job to show up for my college students. It's my college students’ job to show up for their elementary students. There is power in numbers, and there are many of us who feel this deeply and urgently. 

That’s the message that I try to send to my students about everything they are up against in schools: If you don't like it, work to change it.