On the first day of school Tuesday, Blake High School students walked into the building hopeful about a new start after an academic year that included an on-campus shooting.
“Everyone is coming in fresh after the summer,” said Venny Tchekounang, President of the Blake High School Student Government Association (SGA) and an 11th grader at the school. “Everyone is nervous, excited… I really do like this environment, and I really am hoping that it stays this way for a while.”
“So, I know that as people are coming in, yes, they’re coming with some worries, but they’re also coming in with a new, fresh feeling of a new school year, which I’m grateful for,” Tchekounang said.
Last school year there was a shooting in the school parking lot
In April, Blake was the site of a shooting in the parking lot during a fight. One teen was injured. There were two on-campus shootings at MCPS in 2026 — the one at Blake High in the Cloverly area as well as one inside Wootton High School in Rockville in February.
“I think that there could be a little bit more done, especially with restorative justice within our schools,” said Blake SGA Vice President and 11th grader Victoria Azamati. “So I feel like if MCPS implements more restorative justice programs, that would be very beneficial to students to stop conflict right there.”
Left to right: Blake SGA President Venny Tchekounang, Blake SGA Vice President Victoria Azamati
“Meanwhile, I just say, be alert. It can be scary sometimes, but just make sure you’re alert,” Azamati said, which Tchekounang agreed with.
Blake High School Principal Ahmed Adelekan says relationships are key to safety.
“First and foremost is relationships,” Adelekan said. “Getting to know our kids, being intentional about that. Safety is everyone’s responsibility. So when they see something, they’re more willing to say something, so that’s number one.”
Security upgrades in schools
Montgomery County Public Schools leaders say measures have been taken to improve safety and security.
Principal Adelekan said Blake High School no longer does open campus lunch and there is more adult supervision in the building.
“Those are some things we’re doing to ensure that safety is a priority,” Adelekan said.
Superintendent Thomas Taylor commended Blake staff and students for how they handled the shooting in April.
“They handled a really adverse and difficult situation that a lot of school communities deal with,” Taylor said Tuesday morning outside of Blake, where MCPS officials kicked off the new school year. He said significant safety and security upgrades have been made this year throughout the school district.
“We’ve installed door sensors in our schools. We’ve installed additional cameras,” Taylor said.
School Board President Grace Rivera-Oven said every elementary school now has cameras in the back and front.
“And we’re still making investments in it,” Rivera-Oven said. “We do hope that we get funded fully for the safety and security folks that we could not get funded for this year. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to have that for next year.”
Safety continues to be a community concern — at 7 p.m. Thursday there is a community meeting at South Lake Elementary School to discuss safety concerns in Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village.
Fears about ICE
And, fears about ICE arrests continue throughout the community including among students. The concerns are not only about physical safety, “It’s the impact of that on their mental health, on their families, really,” Tchekounang said. “I think that’s incredibly important.”
“I think that our families need to know that we stand with them,” Taylor said. “We’ve issued guidance to our staff and to our schools on how to address difficult situations that deal with federal enforcement when law enforcement come onto school property. And we feel like we’re prepared to address those issues like we were last year.”
“Our message is always, every child is welcome in our schools,” said Rivera-Oven, who came to the U.S. as a child from Bolivia. “We want them to feel welcomed, loved, taken care of.” She added, “We are in very tough times. And we are looking for making sure that our kids get that emotional support. But, also, our staff, they are affected by what’s going on. So, we want to make sure that they also get the support that they need.”
This school year, there will be fewer mental health professionals in schools — this summer the school board cut more than 400 jobs, including social workers, in order to make up for funding MCPS did not get in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
