Students at Denver Discovery School made list of threats against fellow students

DENVER – Multiple students at Denver Discovery School will be disciplined after a classmate reported they had made a list of threats against several other students.

Denver Public Schools spokesperson Alexandra Renteria said that “at no time were our students and staff in any danger” because of the list, which was discovered Thursday and confirmed to have threats tied to specific students. The school is a charter school within DPS.

Renteria said a “brave” student saw the list and told an adult at the school. After the list was discovered, the district notified the Denver Police Department and Denver Public Schools’ Department of Public Safety.

Renteria told Denver7 Investigates she was unable to give further information about the incident, but said “the students who created the list will face consequences.”

She said the parents of the students who created the list were notified Thursday of the incident, that the parents of the students who were named on the list were called Friday.

Denver Discovery School’s principal Dana Ellis sent a letter to families Friday apologizing for not immediately notifying parents about the discovery of the list. The letter reads:

It is our priority to keep you informed of incidents related to student safety. This letter is to let you know that yesterday we discovered a list created by students with names of other students and threats against them. We are proud of our brave student who saw the note and told a trusted adult.

Denver police and the DPS Department of Safety were called to investigate. At no time were our students or staff in any danger. Not all of the parents of the students involved were notified yesterday when the incident happened. Thus, some parents did not know about what happened until today. This is not acceptable. My sincere apologies to these families. We will continue to learn and grow, and contacting parents about events at school will also be a priority.

We do not take threats lightly. The school will follow our District’s Code of Conduct in addressing this matter.

I would like to assure you that the safety and well-being of our students is our No. 1 priority at Denver Discovery School. Our school works closely with the Department of Safety and the Denver Police Department to report all safety incidents that occur at our school and anything suspicious that may occur in the neighborhood.

Thank you for your support in keeping our students and school safe. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Dana Ellis

Principal