Middle school seeks parent volunteers to guard the campus following nearby incident involving student shooter

A Colorado middle school is seeking parent volunteers to guard the campus for the remainder of the school year following a nearby incident involving a student shooter, KUSA reported.

McAuliffe International School in Denver, Colorado, is asking parents to volunteer to guard the school's exterior doors and check students' IDs before allowing them into the building.

Principal Kurt Dennis sent a letter to families on April 14 informing them of the school's "near-term improvements" to safety measures.

In the meantime, Dennis hopes to improve campus security by recruiting parent volunteers to ensure exterior doors are locked, greet visitors at the entrance, and run students' IDs through the school's security system. In addition, parent volunteers will be provided a yellow vest so that students can easily identify them.

Dennis issued the April letter in response to a recent nearby shooting involving a student at East High School who fired at two school administrators while they were attempting to pat him down for weapons.

In the days following the incident, Dennis revealed to KUSA that a student attending McAuliffe International School is also required to be patted down for weapons daily after being accused of attempted first-degree murder and the discharge of a firearm.

"Our hope is that if enough adults sign up for a volunteer shift, we can address these areas for the duration of this school year," Dennis wrote in the letter to parents.

Dennis also announced that the school would no longer sell hoodies as part of the school's uniform because they can be used to hide dangerous items.

"Students wearing hoodies are difficult to recognize, and the pockets in front are used to store items out of sight from our staff," he stated. "Fortunately, crew neck sweatshirts are back in style, so hopefully, students won't protest this change in fashion too much."

Parents are waiting for the Denver Public Schools to release additional information about an upcoming district-wide safety plan. Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero is anticipated to announce the update next week, and a draft of the plan will be released on May 1. According to a district presentation, the final safety plan will be accessible to parents on June 26.

In the meantime, parents plan to hold meetings outside East High School, demanding transparency from the district.

Paul Ballenger, a father of a child attending McAuliffe, told KUSA that he feels the district needs to do "a tremendous amount of work" to ensure students' safety on district campuses.

Ballenger stated that Dennis' call to get parents involved is "most likely a step in the right direction."

"I know I have seen a lot of parents who really do want to try to help," he added. "They don't know how to help."

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