OLATHE, Ks — Olathe Public Schools celebrated "Orange and Blue Day" on Wednesday to express the district’s unity following last Friday’s school shooting.
Students, teachers, administrators, alumni and thousands of supporters took to social media and posted pictures and videos of themselves wearing Olathe East High School’s colors.
“It’s just a means for us to symbolize how important Olathe East is to our community,” said Superintendent of Olathe Public Schools, Dr. Brent Yeager. "Let them know that we care about them and we are thinking about them and that they mean the world to us."
A string of feeds under #OneOlatheFamily were at times a visual reminder of the tragic event of last week. Beth Dean and Melissa Erker, two teachers at Santa Fe Trail Middle School, say as teachers, it was a harsh reality to fathom.
“We actually used to work with Dr. Stoppel and Officer Clark. They used to be at our building. So it was a pretty emotional day,” Dean said. “It’s just really awesome to know that we’re a part of this community that just loves and supports everyone no matter what.”
“It’s nice to know that we’ll all stand up for each other no matter what even in the worst of times,” Melissa Erker said.
Even local businesses got involved hoping to do their part in the healing process. Allyson Ellis, owner of Smallcakes Cupcakery, designed orange and blue cupcakes to sell on Wednesday with the slogan 'Maybe a cupcake with help.' Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Olathe Police Department in honor of School Resource Officer Erik Clark.
“Seeing all the other high schools with the orange on and the blue — it gives me chills,” Ellis said. “Many of us weren’t directly impacted, but on the exterior impacted — if there's a way that we can do something, you know, make people feel a little bit better.”
