CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — At 10:17 a.m., on Friday, Broward County Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn asked Ramblewood Elementary School students in Coral Springs to “pause to honor those we remember.”
Hepburn stood next to School Board Member Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter Alyssa died on Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Hepburn hugged Alhadeff. The two met with students, teachers, and staff. Some wore bracelets with Alyssa’s name in her memory.
“She should still be here right now. She should be graduating from college,” Alhadeff said.
To honor Alyssa’s community service, students and their parents donated non-perishable food for packing and delivery on Friday’s Day of Service and Love.
“It’s a sad memory, so we think that we should honor that in our hearts, so we decided to gather all this food and help people in need,” said Carson Dunn, a Ramblewood Elementary School student.
Voters elected Alhadeff to serve as the School Board of Broward County’s District 4 member. She also co-founded Make Our Schools Safe, a nonprofit advocacy organization.
“Our schools are so much safer than they were when the tragedy happened in 2018, and we continue to improve our school safety every single day,” Alhadeff said. “Training is so important that our students and our teachers know exactly what to do in this life-threatening emergency situation.”
Hepburn, who was appointed in April 2024, agreed.
“We are way more vigilant,” Hepburn said. “We are way more engaged. We understand many of the things that could cause such a tragedy in the future. We need to remain vigilant to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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