Covenant School in Nashville was once overshadowed by a shooting. It is now brightened up with rainbows.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The first time families returned to Covenant School in Nashville after a shooting last year that killed six peopleThey were gathering in the chapel when someone noticed a rainbow outside.

The group rushed outside to find a double rainbow in the clear blue sky, without a cloud or a drop of rain in sight, said Christy Foster, Covenant's communications director. She began crying Tuesday remembering the moment as she showed reporters the recently completed renovations at the private school, still recovering from the attack.

“Seeing all the kids running outside and playing under those rainbows — it was so much hope, so much joy, so much of God saying, 'I got you.' I got you. You are not alone,” Foster said.

Rainbows, a biblical symbol of hope, seemed to continue appearing in the sky afterward. One showed up at Brentwood Hills Church of Christ – the school's temporary home for a year – and again a few weeks later at a meeting at another church in the area. city, said Trudy Waters, Covenant school principal.

“Every time we met as a group, it seemed like a rainbow appeared. And you know, you can’t make this up,” she said.

A former student burst through the doors of the Christian elementary school on March 27, 2023, killing three children and three adults before being shot and killed by responding officers, police said. The attack was carefully planned and the shooter had drawn up a detailed map and monitored the building, authorities said.

Today, the rainbow has become the main theme of the renovated building.

A painting of the double rainbow as it appeared over the school after the shooting now decorates the main entrance. There are also strings of rainbow-colored paper cranes, spontaneous gifts sent by people across the country who were moved by the tragedy that happened here.

“They really remember all the people who supported us,” Waters said.

This support included a design firm that donated time and materials for the renovation, which included new paint, carpet, furniture and decor. The Joel Foundation, run by artist Billy Joel and his wife Alexis Joel, donated musical instruments and helped upgrade the school's performing arts space. And many other groups and individuals contributed their time and talents.

Covenant had considered not returning to its old building, which shares space with Covenant Presbyterian Church, and school leaders heard many differing opinions about what was best, Waters said.

Ultimately, “we felt like our main way to survive and move forward would be to find the ability to be back in that space,” she said. “We spent a lot of, you know, not only time and money, but real energy figuring out how to make this happen.”

Translucent plastic panels in muted rainbow colors now hang from the ceiling of a corridor leading to a giant painting in similar colors. The canvas was covered by the children and school staff with layers of words and images that they associate with the three young children and three adults killed in the building. They include Bible passages, drawings of cats and even the words “hot dog” for a favorite meal. The painting is one of the few visual reminders of the shooting — a way to try to honor those lost without triggering traumatic memories.

That's not always possible, Waters said.

“I learned that it’s hard to avoid all of this,” she said. … “That's what history is. And we don't want to stop moving forward and living. So we have to figure out how to live with it.”

Covenant School resumed classes in its old building in mid-April, after spending a little more than a year in donated space at the church in Brentwood Hills. Waters and Foster said the journey back was difficult but ultimately successful.

“The building is full of laughter. It's full of joy. … It’s full of learning,” Foster said. “People do their calculations, their multiplication tables. They take their spelling tests. They learn to read. We do school. And children, they are children.