Denver parents, activists call for changes following scathing survey of Denver Public Schools principals: "It's very concerning and very outrageous"

Following the release of a scathing report detailing serious safety concerns from 11 high school principals in Denver Public Schools, many are calling on the district to make immediate changes.

The report was completed by a private contractor who was hired by DPS, who surveyed the principals in April and put together a draft report in early May summarizing their concerns. You can read the full report at the bottom of this article.

The private contractor later completed a more finalized version of the report, complete with thorough recommendations of helpful policy changes for the district to consider. However, that finalized version has not yet been released, as the district says it's protected by attorney-client privilege. 

RELATED: Denver principals tell all in survey previously hidden from the public

After CBS News Colorado learned of the report this summer, we requested a copy of it through an open records request. 

Sources tell CBS News Colorado that the draft report, which was completed in early May, was completed before the district's office of general counsel got involved in the survey work. 

After CBS News Colorado's attorneys spoke with the district last Monday, Oct. 2, explaining that the third-party survey work should be considered public record, the district released the draft report days later on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 6.

Parents that CBS News Colorado has spoken to since the release of the draft report are concerned by DPS' attempts to prevent the public from viewing it. 

"It's very concerning and very outrageous, frankly, on the part of the district," says Heather Lamm, a parent of two students in DPS. "I think it continues what we've seen as a pattern of secrecy, and a really alarming lack of transparency from this district."

Lamm also has a child who just graduated from East High School this May. 

After a shooting at East High this spring, she formed an activist group called "Resign DPS Board."

She says the draft report detailing honest safety concerns from Denver principals should be met with impactful and prompt changes. 

"It is outrageous how little accountability we are putting on students, and on parents, and on a district that needs to protect everyone," Lamm said. 

One of the items she said was most shocking to her in the report was the lack of support principals said they get after a student is deemed a high threat level. 

This spring, a student, who had been deemed a threat, was being searched by two deans at East High School, when he opened fire on them.

RELATED: New data: 151 high threat level students currently in Denver Public Schools 

"That's what we saw at East, and it is certainly what we have seen in other places around the district, and that gives me great concern, and it should give every voter, every parent, every grandparent great concern," Lamm said. "We are not giving our leaders a chance to actually support those principals in a way that they deem is the most helpful for them in their schools."

Also in the report, principals detail serious issues with DPS' discipline policies. They say their hands are tied to hold students accountable when they're accused of committing dangerous crimes, and principals said it's difficult to get a student expelled or transferred to an alternative or pathway school when necessary. 

"If someone has been charged with a violent crime, there is no place for those kids in the mainstream education system in Denver," Lamm said. "There are alternative pathways that are going to be better for those kids as well as for the safety of the rest of our kids."

The district has formed a committee to review potential changes to the district's discipline policies but changes likely won't come for months, according to sources. Lamm feels some changes need to be made a lot sooner. 

"We've got to revise the discipline matrix. We have to allow for expulsions," Lamm said. "We have to look at the districts around us and see what they're doing."

Nicholas Martinez, co-founder and executive director of the education nonprofit Transform Education Now, agrees, but he says those changes should be coupled with more interventions for at-risk kids to ensure any policy changes are rooted in equity. 

"What are we doing before a kid gets in trouble?" Martinez asked. "What are we doing to make sure that we're addressing some of the root causes of the school-prison pipeline, ensuring that every child has access to a quality learning environment that they're getting both the academic and the social, emotional resources and tools that they need to have a life full of options."

In a more recent survey of school leaders taken this month, which has not yet been made publicly available, sources tell CBS News Colorado that the majority of principals reported concerns about not having proper long-term response systems in place for safety incidents. 

Principals also reported in the survey this month not having the proper tools to stop or prevent a threat from occurring, according to sources. 

DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero issued the following statement Monday about the survey from this spring:

Dear Team DPS,

Last Friday, there were several stories in the media that highlighted a report we commissioned last April. The sole purpose of this assessment was to seek out the safety concerns of our school leaders in conjunction with the development of our comprehensive safety plan. The interviews contained in this report were conducted this past April and May in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy at East High School.

While the report was from this past Spring, these media stories portrayed it as if it was a recent development and reflective of the current sentiments of DPS school leaders rather than a snapshot in time from six months ago. This is a gross misrepresentation of both the purpose and content contained in this report. 

Over the past year, I have consistently placed the safety of our scholars and staff as my top concern. At the November 2022 Board Meeting, I shared this concern publicly. My attempt to raise the alarm over violence in our greater Denver community entering our schools was also covered in the media for several months after that Board of Education meeting. My desire to do everything we can to ensure the safety of our students and staff is what led DPS to create our Long-Term Safety Plan this past Spring. The attempt by some to imply that DPS is minimizing safety concerns is clearly politics being played out in the public. 

Since the interviews from this assessment were conducted, DPS has made great progress in addressing the concerns expressed by our school leaders, including:

·Adopted the Long-Term Safety Plan.

·Hired Greg Cazzell, an experienced school safety leader, as Chief of Climate and Safety.

·Partnered with the City of Denver and the Denver Police Department to return School Resource Officers (SROs) to 13 DPS high schools. We also came to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DPD, which clearly lays out the role of the SROs in addressing community concerns about the potential for creating a school-to-prison pipeline.  

·We have nearly completed the process of conducting comprehensive building safety assessments at all DPS schools and will prioritize addressing significant safety concerns that are identified.

·We have started a multi-prong, systematic review of our discipline matrix. One review is being done in partnership with Harvard University through the Public Education Leadership Project, and a second with a local group that includes school leaders and community members. 

·We have also created opportunities for district and union leadership to have regular time to meet with regard to their concerns. Our Office of Schools team and Union leadership meet regularly regarding the discipline matrix and other safety concerns. We have also dedicated time during significant meetings, such as our Principal Quarterly, to discuss our safety plan and how it can be improved.

·We have committed $82 million in our budget to address the mental health and physical well-being of our students and staff.

·To learn more about these safety measures and more that we have incorporated, you can review this presentation provided to the Board of Education at the start of the school year.

DPS is committed to getting better at getting better. While we have made tremendous strides in the past six months with regard to safety, our work is still ongoing. While we are facing many challenges, including declining enrollment, teacher and special education professional shortages, and helping out the city of Denver to aid with the migrant crisis, safety continues to be our top priority. If any of our students or staff members feel unsafe, I urge them to contact the DPS Department of Climate and Safety so we can address their concerns. 

Thank you for your continued support of our students. 

In collaboration,

Dr. Alex Marrero
Superintendent

You can read the full report here: