Parents want independent investigation after attempted kidnapping at Aurora elementary school
AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Parents of students at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora are demanding and calling for an independent investigation into the school’s response to the attempted kidnapping during fifth grade recess on April 19.
A group of parents penned a 10-page letter and petitioned it to Cherry Creek School District leaders.
While some parents have been reassured by the school’s response with advanced safety measures, they feel more still needs to be done.
“As I understand, just like our kid, they are all having trouble sleeping, still have a lot of anxiety and fear,” said Dante White whose child encountered the suspect. “All the kids tried to go back yesterday. Our son wasn’t able to make it through the day, but he was able to see one of the therapists there on campus which was really nice to utilize the tools that they put forward as part of the recommendations. He went back today and was able to make it through the full day.”
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Aurora police arrested 33-year-old Soloman Galligan, a registered sex offender, hours after he allegedly went to the school and approached the kids at recess. Police said he even tried grabbing one of the students.
“We got lucky that nothing really serious happened, but these kids are going to feel these effects for a very long time,” said White
In the letter parents sent to district leaders, they detailed what they said were failures by the school on multiple levels. It also outlined a sequence of events and the parents shared what they believe should happen.
“They went to the Walgreens; they interviewed the manager because that’s where the suspect went after that. They talked to the police and got timelines on that,” said White. “The hope is to get everyone put on administrative leave. To do the independent investigation is really critical. Have a third party come in and really look into the facts. Advanced security measures, there’s some in place but we want additional ones as well. And obviously, we want more training for the teachers and stuff. The teachers were actually more in the dark than us parents were. So, to properly train them.”
The principal responded and admitted to mishandling the situation following the suspect’s arrest last week.
Principal Amanda Replogle said one clear misstep was the school should have gone into a secure status, meaning all students were to come inside while security investigated.
She also announced some changes the school will be taking.
The changes include adding an acting assistant principal, more security coordinators and mental health resources.
The school will also retrain staff on security protocols and reinstate their watchdog group so parents and guardians can play a role in keeping the school safe, as well as changing the supervision spots on the playground to have wider views on where students play.
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“The teachers need to be notified more. The teachers at that school are amazing, that’s part of the reason why our kid went there. It’s one of the better schools in the area,” said White. There’s a lot of things that need to occur to make this right, to make sure something doesn’t happen in the future. These are our babies. This is our lifeblood, this is our joy, so until we get fully resolved it’s far from over.”
School and district leaders said they are still investigating the situation and they have had a great deal of feedback – which was mostly positive.
The families involved have a meeting scheduled with district leaders on Monday, and they told FOX31 they will provide any updates.
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