East High School families seek clarity ahead of students' return

As students prepare to return from spring break, parents are at school with hands raised. East High School's auditorium was packed Monday for an engagement event following recent violence on and around campus.

EHS leaders, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero and Denver police were in attendance to provide details on updated safety plans and address concerns.

Guests could use their phones to write and submit questions during the event. There were more than 200, including:

"Can we expect SROs to do bag searches from now on instead of faculty?"

"Is it planned for SROs to be here next year as well?"

"What about metal detectors?"

"How are you changing and evolving your procedures to keep kids safe when the shooters know your plan?"

It was a chance for transparency hundreds of parents like Kim Blankenburg say they've been waiting for. 

"It feels dysfunctional, and it feels like we haven't heard anything. The lack of communication makes parents and children very fearful," said Kim Blankenburg, an East High School Parent. "It's possible for it to not feel so heavy if you have the right support and measures in place."

Frustrations boiled over during the meeting as families waited for clarity. Some parents are hesitant to bring their teens back to East. 

One parent wrote:

"What support or options are you going to provide for my student who doesn't feel safe coming back? How can they finish the year out online?"

DPS responded saying they don't have an online learning option nor the infrastructure.

"We want solutions. We want to understand how will the school feel safer when the kids are expected to come in Wednesday?" said Blankenburg. "We don't know anything besides having two SROs. We don't know if doors are locking properly. We don't know if there are cameras that work around the school premises."

Additional protocols will be in place for students and visitors when they enter the building. DPS is evaluating weapon detection systems and the staffing to support it. They're also looking into options to build a secure a vestibule at the main entrance. 

Students will be required to wear their ID on a lanyard around their neck all day starting Wednesday.

Community Mental Health Partners were also set up Monday with resources.

DPS' mental health recommendation for staffing is a minimum of one mental health provider for every school. DPS says most of its schools are above that ratio. 

For the next two weeks, East High School will have an increased number of counseling support staff, four, in place for students. DPS says it will continue to monitor staffing needs. 

In addition to SROs, the board requested up to two mental health counselors at every high school. DPS says they're working to reach that goal. 

"We're definitely in a shortage and we'll continue to work with all of our community partners, recruiting locally and nationally to fill vacancies," said Meredith Fatseas, DPS Senior Manager of Mental Health. "We are open to being innovative and creative to meet the needs of our students." 

Questions asking why members of the school board weren't present arose during the meeting. 

On Twitter, DPS Board VP Auon'tai Anderson wrote: 

"For the record, I as a Board member did not know of this meeting and was not invited. That explains my absence. Looking forward to hearing more."

East High School will be closed Tuesday to provide additional time for families to engage in the healing process.