New School Year | Same Safety Concerns
Today Denver Public Schools marks its first day of school. A day filled with new beginnings for students, educators, and families. Today Dr. Olson and I joined Superintendent Marrero at several school sites, where we were able to welcome our students back to the Denver Public Schools.
This year our students will be able to return to pre-pandemic days where masks aren’t required, and COVID guidelines have been lifted. However, even with a new school year beginning, I remain concerned about our students and educators’ ongoing safety due to the increase of violence within our communities, the continuous rise of white supremacy, and the broken gun laws at the state and federal levels. For example, did you know that Colorado has yet to ban assault weapons statewide?
Our students and staff should be guaranteed each day that they will be able to see their families at the end of the day. I reflect on a conversation with an educator that told me, “I should have a disclaimer on my contract that states this job may result in serious injury or death.” LET THAT SINK IN.
Currently, firearms are the number one cause of death among children. This is unacceptable, and the answer is NOT more police officers in schools; it addresses the gaps between gun laws and ensures we adequately fund organizations that work 24/7 to keep our communities safe. Outside of my role on the Denver School Board, I work at a local non-profit called the Struggle of Love Foundation; our work addresses gun violence and mental health issues within the Montbello | Green Valley Ranch communities. This is where we should be directing funds to ensure community groups can continue this important work after our last school bell rings.
These ongoing concerns around safety have impacted me personally. Over the last few months, our school board has been going through growing pains, and our interpersonal issues have interfered with our ability to govern effectively. Since the release of several news articles in June, security concerns for my family and me have increased again. This is why I am wearing a bulletproof vest to our school board meeting today and will consider doing so for the foreseeable future. To continue the work for our students, I must be alive to do so.
As a parent of a future DPS student, I want to ensure that I am guaranteed to see my son each day after school; I can not guarantee that at this time, due to these ongoing safety concerns; if I, a school board member feel unsafe due to the ongoing issues on the Board of Education, I can only imagine how parents feel each day without a guarantee that they will be able to see their students every day after school.
I am calling on the state legislature to enact an assault weapons ban, and I am calling on the city to direct funds to organizations committed to this work after Denver Public Schools closes its doors. Finally, I am calling on my colleagues to denounce the ongoing threats arising from our interpersonal conflicts.
We should all feel safe no matter where we work, attend school, get groceries, watch a movie, seek medical help, etc.
We can and must do better!
