DSST: Aurora Science & Tech Middle School
Keeping our communities safe
12/17/21, 8:01 AM
Dear DSST families,
We believe it is important to keep you fully aware of issues and events that impact the safety and wellbeing of our DSST school communities. In a year where schools across the Denver metro have experienced increased volatility in school culture, we are grateful that DSST’s small school design and close student and community relationships have supported our schools in staying safe.
National Social Media Context
Over the past few months, school districts around the country have been seeing an increase in inappropriate, and at times threatening or violent, content on social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Any time that we learn of potential threats to the safety of our DSST communities, we immediately work closely with our safety partners in Denver and Aurora to investigate quickly and provide additional security and support when it is needed. We take every potential threat very seriously, which often requires many hours of necessary follow-up. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our students.
Current TikTok Concern
There is currently a national trend circulating on the social media platform TikTok of students with rumors of school violence set to occur on Friday, Dec.17. These recent TikTok posts are not directed at any specific school and do not make specific threats to any DSST schools. DSST is actively monitoring postings and working with our partners at the Denver and Aurora police departments and the DPS and APS safety and security teams to proactively identify any concerns, should they arise.
We Need Your Partnership
I write today to humbly ask for your partnership. Over the last month, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of social media posts that contain threatening language across all of our 15 schools, in alignment with national and citywide trends. We’ve spent hundreds of hours investigating every single comment, every single text message or post on social media. In every instance, none of these posts have amounted to a significant threat. Often, it is just teenagers responding in the moment to their peers and their intention was never to harm. Regardless of intention, our team will always investigate until we are absolutely sure.
So, I ask that you take time to speak with your student over break about the seriousness of the language we use with others, especially on social media. Please take time to talk about what your student is seeing on their social media and how they can keep others safe by sharing when they see something that doesn’t feel right. The more we can communicate both at home and at school with our students, the better. Also know that each of our campuses has a skilled mental health support staff. Please reach out directly to your school to connect with that staff and for other resources available to you and your student.
When to Reach Out
As these things continue to arise, please do not hesitate to reach out to your school to share any information you have as it relates to the safety of our schools. If you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to your school, Safe2Tell is a resource families and students can use to share information anonymously.
Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our communities safe.
Christine Nelson
Chief of Schools, DSST Public Schools
