The faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were back on campus for the first time since 17 were killed.
Teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas were slated to return to campus for the first time since a mass shooting forever changed the Florida high school.
The optional work day was established to give staff a chance to be there for each other and to sit with counselors ahead of the first day back for students, which is scheduled for Wednesday.
A breakfast was also planned for the teachers, who appeared to have mixed emotions about being back at the site of 17 murders a little over a week later.
"It's surreal... All of us, we go from angry to sad to numb," teacher Ashley Kurth told WSVN. "Most of us have gone and talked to counselors and we're talking to each other and family and friends."
Another teacher, Jim Gard, said returning could be a good thing for teachers who will be there to comfort one another.
"I'm anxious to get back; I’m happy to get back," Gard said. "It would be nice for us all to be together. I’m looking forward to it. I really want to get back, and I really want to get back to the kids."
While some of the school will reopen, the freshman building where cops say 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz laid siege with an assault-style rifle will be leveled, the school board decided.
The building is still closed and considered a crime scene so classes normally held there will be relocated.
A press release from the school district indicates that all faculty will be required to come back to campus Monday and Tuesday for planning days ahead of the students' return Wednesday.
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