DSST: Elevate Northeast High School

Following up on the safety incident at East High School

03/22/23, 3:43 PM

*Content note: This email could bring up feelings of emotional trauma.

 

Dear Bulldog Families,

 

As you heard from our network earlier today, there was a shooting at East High School this morning. It was confirmed that the two adults, who were deans, were immediately transported to the hospital. Our partners at the Denver Police Department (DPD) have assured us that this was an isolated incident and that no other schools were at risk.

 

I know how difficult news like this is for students, families, staff and our entire community. Gun violence continues to plague our country, and I know that as parents, families and educators, we are all deeply pained and frustrated. I also want to strongly encourage that even among the emotions this brings up, it is critical that our students come to school the rest of this week. Every day at school matters for our students. DPD has assured us that this was an isolated incident, and we know our schools are safe, supportive spaces for our students.

 

Today as a network, we worked closely with our partners at DPD and DPS Safety and Security and determined that there was no threat to our community after today’s incident. Our front office and leadership teams operated with additional vigilance and continued to follow our standard safety protocols. We were able to hold our typical school day today, and I am deeply grateful for our dedicated staff, who were able to support and educate our students as they were likely processing their own emotions.

 

In addition to the resources that were shared in the network email this morning, the following resources are available for our students and for you as parents and guardians as you support your students and process this yourself:

• I Matter is a free program to provide mental health support for students.

• Contact the Mental Health Center of Denver at 303-504-1500 to find a community-based therapist if you or your student need additional support.

• Information about the role of caring adults can be found here.

• Information about talking to children about violence can be found here.

• If you are concerned about your student, please reach out to their advisor so they can be connected with our mental health team.

• We will hold a Safe & Brave Space for students with our mental health provides on both middle and high school campuses.

 

As a reminder, Safe2Tell is a program where you can anonymously report safety concerns at 877-542-7233 or safe2tell.org. This is a resource available to everyone in our community. 

 

Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support. I am grateful for the incredibly strong community we have at Elevate Middle and High School.

 

Briana Mesa (MS) and Travonda Favorite (HS)