Parents of students in Denver schools react to latest from district on safety plan
Parent advocates continue calls for transparency and a seat at the table in the district's safety discussions.
"We are worried because decisions continue to be made without us," said April Martinez, community activist and parent.
Denver school board Vice President Aoun'tai Anderson attended Monday's Parents Safety Advocacy Group (P-SAG) meeting, and says he wants to open the door to include parents in the discussions.
"I definitely understand the fear that parents are in right now because my sister attends East High School," Anderson said.
"Through the work of Director Anderson I am proud to say that we have been offered a spot for one of us to attend May 1st," said East High parent Steve Katsaros.
The first draft of DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero's safety plan will be unveiled on May 1st, with the final draft coming in late June. Though the invitation to that meeting is a step, not all parents are satisfied.
"We are allowed one member to attend for three minutes," said East High parent Vince Jordan, "is it incrementally really a seat at the table? No, it isn't."
Former Denver Public Safety Director, Murphy Robinson, will partner with the district in the development of the safety plan.
"I think that he brings a vast wealth of experience to this work," Anderson said, "I have concerns around the policing aspect and what that may look like recommendation-wise for Denver Public Schools, knowing his previous role was chief of safety and he was essentially the boss of the police."
P-SAG did not come out for or against the move to include Robinson.
"We're not here to talk about the adult stuff, we want things to get done for our children. That is what we're gonna continue to press. Whoever is brought to the table is brought to the table, but that table must include the diversity of community voices," said Vernon Jones, DPS parent and Executive Partner of Faithbridge.
These parents are calling for community partners to be part of creating these safety solutions, and asking for trauma to be addressed and budgeted into this plan.
P-SAG has submitted a number of specific requests to the DPS board, and have now heard back on some of them. One of those requests was to know who the "expert" was the district is working with, and we now know it's Murphy Robinson. The creation of a whistleblower hotline is also in process. And P-SAG says the board has not met in executive session since P-SAG requested the board stop holding safety meetings in secrecy. Several other requests have still received no response.
