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DMV students prepare for 'National School Walkout'

Students are expected to leave their classes around 10 a.m. Some students are also expected to join a march from the White House to the Capitol.

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Students across the country are expected to participate in another school walkout Friday in a push for more gun-control.

The "National School Walkout" coincides with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, which claimed the lives of 13 people.

RELATED: 'Students aren't quitting': Thousands plan walkouts to protest gun violence, mark 19 years since Columbine

"Columbine was really the start of this paranoia and this slew of school shootings," said Daniel Green, of the Edmund Burke school in DC.

Green was one of 30 DMV students who gathered in front of the White House to remember the victims of the Columbine shooting Thursday evening.

"We had no control over Columbine," said Rosie Silvers of Richard Montgomery High School. "We weren't even there to see it. But, it defined how we see gun violence as a generation."

Silvers said she plans to participate in Friday's walkout. Students are expected to leave their classes around 10 a.m. Some students are also expected to join a march from the White House to the Capitol.

One school likely will not walkout Friday: Columbine High School.

The school confirmed to WUSA9 sister station, KUSA-TV, that a letter shared on social media, written by Columbine High School Principal Scott Christy, is legitimate. In the letter, Christy wrote:

"This year April 20 is garnering more attention that usual in the national and statewide media. We wanted to reach out to students, school leaders and school communities to share what our tradition has been and invite you to join us. We know another walkout has been promoted by various groups, however, in Jeffco the month of April has long been a time to respectfully remember our loss, and also support the efforts to make our communities a better place. Please consider planning service projects, an activity that will somehow build up your school, or perhaps pre-Day Without Hate event on April 20, as opposed to a walkout. The Columbine survivors and Columbine community has supported our efforts as a way to hope and remember, and we encourage you to as well."

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