LEWISTON, Maine — The Lewiston school system lost one of its own in Wednesday night's mass shooting.
While they dealt with this loss, they had to figure out how to comfort, and then educate, thousands of students just days later.
Lucille "Lucy" Violette and her husband, Robert, were shot and killed at Just-in-Time Recreation during the shooting spree that claimed 18 lives.
School superintendent Jake Langlais told NEWS CENTER Maine on Monday that Lucy worked in the district for 52 years. School leaders were back at work that morning, planning to welcome students on Tuesday, and for a shortened schedule the rest of the week—featuring early releases.
Langlais said, for students and staff, a sense of safety and of comfort were what was most important.
"Every kid is gonna be different in how they grieve; the way in which they grieve; the time frame in which they choose to grieve. But I know it’s important to do so," Langlais said. "And communities that hurt that don’t grieve, it manifests negative things. And so, we want to make sure that—we may not get these two or three weeks back that we’re having this transition, and that may even extend. But, in the long run, it’s really worth taking care of each other first."
Langlais said someone asked him if things would ever return to normal.
"The answer, in my opinion, is no; not anytime soon; not for a very long time," he said. "And by very long time, I mean years, maybe a decade. But this happened here; we all lived it. And it’s trauma-inducing for all of us."
He added that other school districts and providers from around the state have offered counseling resources to his district.
He was confident every child and adult who needs care will get it in the weeks to come.