Praise for Platte Canyon leader

Principal gets credit for drawing school together after tragedy

Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 20, 2006 at midnight

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Bryan Krause was prepared for explosions, chemical spills and fires.

But the Platte Canyon High School principal never imagined the kind of disaster that would engulf his hillside campus Sept. 27.

That's when a deranged gunman entered the school and took six girls hostage before killing 16-year-old Emily Keyes, then himself.

"After Columbine, we had a comprehensive safety plan in place, as did most schools," Krause said. "But I don't think you can fully prepare for something like this."

Krause said he first learned that something had gone awry that day when a student told him someone in one of the classrooms had a gun.

"My initial thought was that a student brought a gun to school," Krause recalled from his small tidy office in the school near the mountain community of Bailey, southwest of Denver on U.S. 285.

But when he met up with Sandy Smith, the English teacher who was forced out of her classroom after it was seized by 53-year-old Duane Morrison, Krause "realized what was happening."

He then followed an established emergency plan, beginning with a phone call to the local sheriff.

"I knew my role was to set up an incident command post. After we contacted the sheriff's department, the next procedure was to take the students to a safe place," he said.

The 770 students from Platte Canyon and adjoining Fitzsimmons Middle School were evacuated and taken in buses to Deer Creek Elementary School, one of five area schools that went into lockdown.

Krause said the school's faculty and staff had conducted lockdown drills for the past three years in cooperation with the Park County Sheriff's Office.

"We almost made the decision not to have one this past August, but we thought it was important enough to go through with it," he said. "I'm glad we did."

The incident has forever changed Platte Canyon High - and Krause.

"What has happened to our school . . . I guess we were naive," said Krause. "We've lost some of that."

For Krause, the day his school lost its innocence was undoubtedly the most trying of his career.

"There were a lot of thoughts, mostly for Emily and her family," he said. "I got 800 people out. I just couldn't get one out."

When Morrison set a deadline for police to leave the school, a SWAT team entered the classroom. As they did, Morrison fired on the officers and shot Keyes. Sheriff's officials have said that Morrison then turned the gun on himself as police shot him a number of times.

The investigation is continuing.

Krause is left with the task of leading the school's efforts to move forward.

"It's been a challenge," said Krause, who joined the Platte Canyon staff in 2000 as assistant principal and was promoted the following year. "I credit the progress we've made to our faculty and the community. They've been amazing."

But Platte Canyon District Superintendent James Walpole said much of the credit goes to Krause.

"Bryan is still a relatively young and new principal. His first year, it was apparent to me that he demonstrated the kind of good judgment and tact that would normally take others longer to hone," Walpole said.

"The first thing a good principal has to have is an established positive relationship with staff, parents and students, which Bryan had done," he added. "That has greatly facilitated our recovery efforts."

Parents have also been highly supportive of the administrator, who could have come under fire after it was learned that Morrison had appeared on campus nearly three hours before he seized the school.

"We don't want people to have regrets. Everybody did the best they could. There were heroes here," Krause said.

Bill Pollick insists Krause was one of them. The father of a 15-year-old sophomore at Platte Canyon and head of the school's parent advisory council, Pollick said he was "extremely impressed" with Krause.

"The way he's been able to bring the students and the teachers together has been commendable," he said. "Even before this whole thing happened, he made the school the best environment possible for the kids. When budget concerns were weighing heavily on our minds, he always said the students are first."

Krause returns the compliments to Pollick and other parents.

"Parents and the entire community has really stepped up. They have been incredible to work with," Krause said.

One program parents came up with is called Parents at the Door. There are now 50 parent volunteers available to greet everyone who walks through the front door of the school building.

Krause said the school has taken other security measures since the shootings, including looking at high-tech security systems. The Colorado State Patrol will conduct a safety assessment of the school. And Walpole has developed a safety task force with the community, the school and law enforcement.

What Krause said he wants to avoid is creating a climate of fear and apprehension in his school.

"It still makes us uptight when we see strangers pull into the parking lot," said Krause. "We have to get beyond that. It would be easy to turn this school into a prison. That's the last thing anyone around here wants to see happen."

Even students, whose usual interaction with the principal is when they misbehave, have taken notice of Krause's efforts to bring things back to normal.

"Mr. Krause has always been accessible. But he's been available to students even more now," said Mara Marski, a 17-year-old senior and student body president. "The teachers have been amazing. They've been so supportive. But I know that Mr. Krause has led them by example."

Krause, an initially reserved man who with time reveals a dry sense of humor, said his biggest challenge is to keep his faith in humanity.

"I am not cynical. I balance the evil one person did with all the support we've had, not just in Colorado, but nationwide," he said.

A brilliant late fall sunset illuminated a stairwell where Krause sat for photographs. Then, he rushed to an evening meeting with parents.

"I like being a principal," he said. "You just never know what each day will bring."

Tribute

Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink is planning to honor law enforcement officers and staff who responded to the Sept. 27 hostage standoff at Platte Canyon High School.

• When: 3:30 p.m. today

• Where: D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School, 10359 W. Nassau Ave.

• Who: Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, Arvada Police Chief Ron Sloan and Golden Police Chief Bill Kilpatrick will join Mink in recognizing more than 100 employees and volunteers.

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