The changes one Apalachee High School educator wants to see one month after shooting

A vigil around the flag pole at Apalachee High School.
The Apalachee High School community returned to campus for an open house on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, following a shooting in the same month that left four people dead and several others injured. (Chamian Cruz/WABE)

One month ago, the lives of hundreds of Apalachee High School’s students, teachers, and administrators changed forever.

A student brought a gun to the Georgia school, and within minutes, allegedly killed two classmates and two teachers before surrendering to a school resource officer.

It’s been an especially emotional month for Todd Cates, the school’s media specialist who is on the school’s first response team. He said he takes life five minutes at a time now, because that’s as long as he can stay focused.



Classes resumed at Apalachee High School two weeks ago — too soon for some, said Cates. Cates spoke with “All Things Considered” host Jim Burress about changes he wants to see going forward.

He says he’s struck by his students’ resiliency and appreciates the outpouring of support.

“We appreciate people thinking about us. We, of course, wanted to be known for many, many other things, but now we’re known for this,” said Cates. “And just having people thinking about us, wanting to help, helping the ways they know how to help, providing the comfort that they feel they can provide is helping us.”

Christopher Alston contributed to this report.