East High School Shooting: After a 17-year-old Denver student murdered two administrators, escaped to the mountains, and killed himself, teachers in Colorado flocked to the state Capitol on Friday to demand improved safety for children and school employees.
East High School Shooting: A day after kids and parents gathered on the Capitol to make identical requests, some 1,500 teachers and their allies demanded for stronger school security, more mental health help, and tougher gun control measures.
Teachers at the demonstration shared their concerns about the now-routine practice of locking down schools for safety in the wake of school shootings.
On Wednesday, a student at East High School opened fire, prompting concerns about the circumstances surrounding the incident. The student was being patted down for weapons, as was routine due to his behavioral difficulties and pending firearm charge, school authorities said.
At the gathering on Friday, some East High School instructors stated they had no idea pupils were being routinely patted down before the incident.
To paraphrase one English teacher, “I want to go into a building every day where I don’t need to ask if my kids are getting a pat down because I know nobody is bringing guns into the school,” Josh Garfinkel.
Denver public schools were closed on Friday after the incident. A few years ago, in reaction to protests over racial injustice following the assassination of George Floyd by police, a policy was implemented that removed armed cops from local high schools throughout the academic year.
Teachers in Colorado gathered on the legislative steps on Friday for speeches and chanting before marching in a circle around the building and entering inside.
Raegan Haines, an elementary school teacher, stated that her school had gone into lockdown three times this year. She advocated for stricter gun control measures from the legislative branch.
How am I going to entertain all these kids? What can I do to make the kids go to sleep? Why do I have to decide who to put my body in front of?
She went on to say that the educators “had to walk through metal detectors and everything is plated in gold” before entering the Capitol. The same feeling of safety is lacking in our educational institutions.
Proposed legislation would increase the minimum age to possess a firearm from 18 to 21, enforce waiting periods of three days after purchasing guns, and outlaw semi-automatic rifles.
The prohibition on semi-automatic firearms is highly unlikely to be implemented. Colorado Governor Jared Polis may be responsible for deciding the destiny of the rest. While he has shown support for the expansion of red flag regulations, he has not publicly backed increasing the minimum age to purchase firearms or instituting a three-day waiting period.
Teachers said that there are not enough social workers or psychologists to support kids with mental health issues.
According to Kristy Skarphol, a math teacher at East High School, only approximately six psychologists and social workers at East High must care for 2,500 pupils. They have also reached out to instructors who may be suffering this year due to the increased frequency of lockdowns.
Skarphol remarked, “We’re just spread much too thin for what we need.
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