OCALA, Fla. -- For many students, this year safety is top of mind. For students at Forest High school in Marion County, it’s also about moving forward.

  • Gunman shot into Room 212 at Forest high School last year
  • Room is now "The Rock" so everyone can move forward
  • Students can find school supplies, food, talk about their day
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"I was in upstairs B hallway in criminal justice class, so obviously the whole situation was very scary," said student Avery Brown. 

Brown was there April 20 – the day a former student came inside the school, shooting into a classroom.

A bullet hit a 17-year-old in the ankle. 

Since then, that room served as a reminder of how close they came to another horrific tragedy. But now they’re flipping the script.

"Everyone calls it "the room" just like to put it simply, so now we’re trying to get people to call it "The Rock," so it has a more positive tone," said Brown. 

 

 Room 212 has been turned into a room where students can come and get school supplies, clothing, food and other items. 

"They can take anything that they need, no questions asked. They can sit down for a few minutes and talk if they’re having a bad day, or if they just want to talk, and then they head right back to class," said Principal Elizabeth Brown. 

Brown says without The Rock, the classroom would have stayed empty. 

"I was not going to ask a teacher to come in and teach in this room. I was not going to ask students to come into this room just to be in the room," she said. 

Students say everyone has gotten close since the shooting. 

"We’re all moving forward together and it’s a very positive atmosphere. We’re all one big family," said Brown. 

The Rock was created by Rondo Fernandez who owns a chain of restraints and is also a Marion County public school graduate.