HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — As students from STEM School Highlands Ranch prepare to head back to school on Wednesday, some parents are distressed by national headlines of violence.

“I pray that this is going to get better instead of getting worse,” parent Joanne Kaufman said. “It just brings me back to that place where you feel lost, you feel helpless.”

In May, student Kendrick Castillo was killed in a shooting while protecting his peers at the STEM School; eight others were wounded.

“This is a crisis in our country that we need to address,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman says in recent weeks, the school has held several counseling and coping sessions for families and students.