WHITELAND, Ind. — Around 80 people with candles in hand, some with signs, stood around a photo of Alaina Dildine wrapped in a purple ribbon Thursday.
The 15-year-old girl died May 16, 2023, after being pulled from the swimming pool at Whiteland Community High School.
Classmates shared some of their favorite moments with Alaina — even if it was tripping in the hallway.
"She was so funny. We would do a bunch of trivia or she would just try and make me laugh when I was not in the mood for it," said Ava Dailey, who went to school with Alaina. "She just always knew how to put a smile on my face, and, I don't know, she was just kind of like my hero, and I always just looked up to her."
Dildine's mom, Victoria, stood in the circle to hear it all.
"On a day that is the worst day of your life, hearing what a lovely impact she had makes so much joy," Victoria said as she began to get choked up.
Some of Alaina's Army, as they call themselves, went to school with her for years or played alongside her in sports.
"She was definitely like one of my first friends," said Makenna Shrimplin, who played tennis with Alaina. "She really made me want to play the sport, and I'm continuing to play the sport because of her."
Others in the circle were strangers, moved by Alaina's story and compelled to provide comfort to her family.
"I think it speaks to Alaina. It just speaks to Alaina because she was that kind of kid, even though at 15, she would have shown up and would've said, 'Mom, we have to go here because this happened,'" Victoria said.
And at 8:53 p.m., there was a moment of silence held to mark the 53 minutes that passed until someone realized Alaina had drowned.
Alaina had epilepsy. She'd been living with the diagnosis since second grade.
Her parents say the district, school and staff were all well aware of her condition.
When she drowned in May 2023, it was after having a seizure in the swimming pool.
A police investigation found no one broke the law. But investigators did determine Alaina went underwater in class and no one noticed for 53 minutes.
"How do you lose a kid for 53 minutes? I don't understand it at all," said Alaina's dad, Kyle.
Her family filed federal lawsuit against the district, school and staff.
Family says Alaina had a care plan in place since elementary school because of a history of seizures.
According to the suit, Dildine was "experiencing frequent seizure activity at school" during the spring semester, including in swim class.
"She had them so many times that the teacher herself was actually deducting points," Kyle said, "and we had to write her an email saying, 'That's medical.'"
The suit alleges that on May 8, the physical education teacher called the nurse about Alaina "seeing blobs." The nurse encouraged the teacher to let Alaina sit out. Later that day, the nurse observed Alaina have a seizure.
On May 11, Alaina's mother sent an email to the physical education teacher. According to the suit, she was concerned her daughter was having to swim in order to receive participation credit for the class, which made up the bulk of a student's grade. In the email, she allegedly asked the teacher if there was any other way Alaina could receive participation credit for days she is not able to participate.
Then, just four days before Alaina's drowning, the suit alleges her mother sent another email to the physical education teacher, asking if there was any other way for her daughter to participate in physical education without swimming:
“Please know that we do value [A.D.] showing participation for class, so if you would like her to complete some sort of writing or worksheet to earn points we are certainly in support of that. Please just let her/us know. Thank you for always looking out for her safety in PE we are very grateful.”
According to the suit, the physical education teacher did not respond to the mother's request.
Five days later, Alaina drowned as the result of a seizure, according to the Johnson County coroner.
Policy changes
On Feb. 6, the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation shared a document with parents detailing its updated pool policies and procedures after the drowning.
The district brought in "one of the country's foremost experts on swimming pool safety."
The district said that expert gave them suggestions and direction, as well as "more specific language that will add layers of safety to our swimming protocol." The district said it took all of those recommendations into consideration when looking at pool rules and guidelines, along with how physical education swimming classes are done.
"Because of the changes we have implemented, it will make it a lot safer for our students and any other group that will be using the pool. We have worked hard to do our absolute best in refining and strengthening our checklist and guidelines," said a statement from Superintendent Dr. Timothy Edsell.
Click here for a complete look at the revised policy proposal.