PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio — As Valley Forge High School students returned to class Friday for the first time since a classmate died by suicide inside the school cafeteria Monday afternoon, two women are reaching out to a community still searching for answers — and a way forward.
One is a Parma mother whose own son walked those same halls; the other lost her daughter in one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. Together, their message to the Valley Forge community is simple: You don’t have to have all the answers; you just have to show up.
A community in crisis
The Parma City School District confirmed that an 18-year-old student died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the cafeteria at Valley Forge on Monday. The gun, investigators say, belonged to a family member. Police added there was no ongoing threat to students or staff.
In the days that followed, both Valley Forge and Normandy high schools closed as the district arranged grief counselors and crisis support teams. Thursday night, a tense board of education meeting drew more than an hour of emotional public comment, with students and parents demanding answers about mental health resources and school security…