4/24 10:20am Media Advisory

P-SAG’s weekly Make Change Monday (MCM)

Media Contact: Parent, (303) 800-7565 / East80206@gmail.com

Time: Monday @ 10:20-10:50, April 24, 2023 (weekly until May 22)
Place: Thatcher Fountain | City Park Esplanade Denver, CO MAP

Details: MCM is an ongoing forum for DPS parents and aligned community members to
formalize ‘asks’ of Denver Public Schools (DPS) Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero and the Board
of Education (BOE).

Speakers: Rev. Fidel Butch Montoya, Executive Director of Latino Faith Initiative and
Former Denver Manager of Safety, Jason McBride, Violence prevention expert and community
activist, April Martinez, APS parent, bridge builder and community activist, Dane Washington
Sr, DPS parent and researcher at CU Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Dr.
Darlene Sampson, Ph.D Educational Leadership and Equity Consultant, and Vernon Jones,
DPS parent and Executive Partner of Faithbridge

This last week, April 20th marked the 24th anniversary since the mass shooting at Columbine
High School. We have had 24 years to learn that guns and school violence are ubiquitous. We
have learned that risk assessment, safety policy and practice implementation is a critical
necessity. Yet, this monday, April 24th marks 570 days since the BOE revoked the district’s
original detailed safety policy and replaced it with the empty Executive Limitation (EL) 11 which
directed the Superintendent to “develop and maintain a safe schools plan, following
consultation with school and school district accountability committees, parents,
teachers, administrators, students, and when appropriate, members of the community,
that provides for a safe learning environment conducive to the learning process and free
from unnecessary disruption….”

Over 90,000 children and 14,000 employees in DPS remain in tenuous safety environments
every day. In 570 days, DPS has made no revelation of safety risk examination nor clear targets
for safety assessment.

Instead, PSAG can find only one document suggesting the safety targets the current BOE has
utilized. In “Ends 1.4 Heath and Safety 12/16/22” final accepted draft, Dr.Marrero details his
safety goals. He itemizes “compliance with vaccination rates” and “monitoring of student
vaccinations” (TP 1.4.1 and TP 1.4.2) followed by “reduction in out of school suspensions”
(OSS) but just for “marginalized” groups (TP 1.4.3). We find NO metrics around reduction in
violent conflict, reduction in guns brought to school, reduction in lockdowns, nor reduction in
homicides on school grounds. DPS notes 3,643 in the OSS in which Marrero’s safety metrics
focus. Yet, DPS reports >90,000 students on its website. We wonder, what about safety for
the remaining 86,000+ children of the district? What about the other 96% of DPS not
recognized in Ends 1.4?

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In an OpEd published in the Denver Gazette,former Denver Manager of Safety Fidel “Butch”
Montoya said, “If key DPS players are too busy with political matters, and continue doing
nothing as the days pass, they are setting the stage for another tragic incident. Since the recent
shootings, nothing has really changed to make our schools safer.

“If I were Superintendent Marrero, the very next day after being ordered to develop a plan, I
would have started assembling a community safety group, and started giving regular,
public updates on process and progress. Ultimately, developing a meaningful safety plan
means more than meeting with ‘experts’ and constituents of DPS. This process calls for an
in-depth review of every school safety practice, all school safety policies, as well as transfer and
student exchange policies between school districts.”

This week instead of prioritizing student and educator safety, Superintendent Marrero entered
the national stage by attending NASA’s Space Symposium. Dr. Marrero did not have time to
attend a scheduled meeting with Denver City Council members.

Yet, our children of DPS do not have time to wait. We cannot ignore what we have learned in
the last 24 years since Columbine and we cannot let our personal politics blind us to the urgent
reality of gun violence and the necessity of evidenced safety practices.

Our “asks” this week echo those of Rev. Montoya:

1-We demand immediate objective risk assessment of DPS schools, inclusive of physical
buildings and their surroundings as well as assessment of affective and behavioral risk factors.
We demand this risk assessment be transparent.

2-We demand the development of safety metrics and targets that benefit not just marginalized
students but ALL students. These metrics must include reductions in violent acts and weapon
related threats. We believe that the goals of the district should be to reduce lockdowns and days
lost to violence while promoting academic success and self-actualization for all students by
creating a stable learning environment.

About: The Parent-Safety Advisory Group (P-SAG) is an inclusive, grassroots movement

founded by East High School parents. The group launched March 24th. With now nearly 1,200
parents, students, educators, East alumni, student caregivers and other concerned members of
the Denver community. P-SAG’s agenda is student and school safety. P-SAG is not affiliated
with any political group.

School safety is a nonnegotiable condition necessary for students’ emotional and psychological
health and ability to learn. We recognize there is not enough mental health support for students
who are operating in an education system that is dramatically underfunded during a time when
people, including high-needs students, can easily access highly destructive firearms. Because
of these realities, we have a duty to come together as a village and act thoughtfully to create a
safer school community for our children and educators.

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P-SAG has continued to work tirelessly to understand root causes and areas of district level
dereliction and misgovernance. PSAG has continued to analyze over 35 hours of BOE work
sessions and board meetings since June 11, 2020, when School Resource Officers (SROs)
were removed by a BOE resolution. P-SAG has also examined existing DPS safety policy audits
and analyzed implementation and monitoring. They have sought help from experts in policy and
safety practice and partnered with others outside the East community. They continue to bridge
silos of communities to learn from and ensure the work is inclusive of the many and diverse
experiences which embody our rich and unique community at East High and all of Denver.

P-SAG’s two additional demands and Running List of Demands/Status:

Asked P-SAG demand Status

22 Development of safety metrics and targets that benefit not New

April just marginalized and include reductions in violent acts and
weapon related threats.

22 Perform transparent and objective risk assessment of DPS NEW

April schools, inclusive of physical buildings/surroundings AND
assessment of affective and behavioral risk factors. We
demand this risk assessment be transparent.

17 The BOE must hold its Superintendent accountable to TBD

April produce effective policy and safety for all – not only
for at-risk children – but for ALL children. Hold your
Superintendent accountable to the population he serves.
A vibrant and diverse population spanning from urban
highschools to sleepy suburbia elementary schools at the
edges of the city. All schools matter and the job you were
elected to do starts with managing your Superintendent.

17 We demand to partner in the process. We demand to A, expert

April know what “EXPERT(S)” has been hired as a safety revealed
consultant(s) along with a copy of the contract as
(including deliverables and schedule). Your Murphy
constituents are highly motivated to protect their 93,000 Robinson
children and the 13,000 staff who teach them. Reveal
who this expert is and provide evidence of such person’s
proven safety policy expertise.

10 Create a data driven, common sense, comprehensive No

April safety plan built with input from parents, students, response
teachers, and school administrators

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10 Create an objective and independent third-party C, in
April managed process for all DPS employees to report process
DPS mismanagement and safety concerns without with DPS
retaliation (e.g. whistleblower hotline) and that the ombuds-
resulting in-school intelligence be transparently men
accessible to the community

10 Replace the current ineffective and confusing discipline No

April matrix for a new tool which serves the safety needs of a response
large, diverse and vibrant population. This new tool
should enable the deans and principals to make local
decisions

10 Empower our local teachers, deans, and principals to No

April make school-level safety informed decisions. These response
professionals know our children, can recognize/assess
and appropriately address safety risks. Bottom line:
The practice of top-down leadership and the district
policy that enables it is broken–a hard reset is the
only go-forward

3 Provide transparency and details about the improved No

April safety plan by Wednesday, April 5th at 8:05am, when response
school resumes

3 BOE agree to immediately stop its practice of A, no ES

April holding meetings about safety and district policy in since
executive session demand