Statement on Uvalde Shooting
The Denver Public Schools Foundation team is devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place in Texas yesterday. Our team extends its full support, thoughts and deepest condolences to the Uvalde community in the aftermath of yesterday’s elementary school shooting.
On May 24th, a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. As of this morning, this tragic event has claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults, including a teacher. The 18-year-old gunman was killed by responding officers at the scene. Uvalde is a city of about 16,000 people about 84 miles west of San Antonio.
Senseless acts of violence remind us of how much work still needs to be done to ensure our students are safe in school. At the DPS Foundation we work to ensure our students and families feel supported not only in schools but in our entire community, ensuring students feel safe, healthy, and socially and emotionally supported. In times like these, our community must stand together for our students and educators as we grieve and process this tragedy. Events like these create feelings of anxiety, trauma and stress for all of us. Please be aware of resources DPS and the community offers to use yourself or extend to others as you navigate the aftermath.
To ensure our children are growing up safe and fully supported, we all need to work together. We commit to working with DPS leadership and students to increase efforts to support students and work towards decreasing acts of violence in our schools and in our communities. We will work to ensure that this important work is kept top of mind. This will take time, focus and consistency. Here is what we plan to do:
- This month you’ll hear from our team about concrete ways we can take action.
- We will work to provide our community of donors with opportunities to learn and grow together with us, as they arise.
- We will continue to pace our work so we can be thoughtful and support true change while providing opportunities for conversations.
We have built a powerful nation that is founded on the principles of life, liberty and justice, but our children do not feel safe. If our children and our communities do not feel safe, these pillars do not mean anything. The pursuit of equity and justice should start with the most vulnerable members of our community, our children.