DENVER (KDVR) — The much-awaited initial Denver Public Schools safety plan has been made public.
It addresses several issues, like school resource officers, mental health plans and crisis response training.
The Parent Safety Advocacy Group, or P-SAG, had been calling for the plan ever since two deans were shot at East High School in March. The sister of one of those deans, Jerald Mason, spoke to reporters across the street from the East campus on Monday afternoon.
“When my mother came into my room, she said, ‘Your brother has been shot.’ I just looked at her, and every part of my being just shut down,” Mason’s sister, Collinus Newsome, said.
Newsome spoke on behalf of her brother, who had planned to be at P-SAG’s new conference. A spokesman for the group said he was not able to make it because of a medical condition.
Newsome said she and her mother went directly to the hospital the day Mason was shot.
“We got to his room and there he was, sitting as he usually does, smiling. My mom was crying,” Newsome said.
Newsome said she and her brother do not belong to any advocacy group.
Denver Public Schools releases safety plan
The district released the initial Long-Term Safety Plan just moments before Newsome spoke. A deadline had previously been established by the district to release the initial report.
DPS stressed that Monday’s report was preliminary. Input will be sought from parents and the community, and a final report is expected at the end of June.
Meantime, Jerald Mason is hoping to speak at another planned news conference next Monday.