Hearing about this past weekend’s shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs is beyond heartbreaking. A 22-year-old gunman killed five people and injured 25 others in Club Q, an LGBTQIA+ nightclub, on Saturday night just before “Transgender Day of Remembrance” on Sunday. Law enforcement are investigating whether the attack was a hate crime.
The Denver Public Schools Board of Education and Superintendent extend our condolences, sympathies and support to the victims, the survivors, their loved ones, as well as to the entire LGBTQIA+ Community. We are also being thoughtful of the countless other individuals whose lives have been forever changed by this act of violence.
Denver Public Schools continues to be a Safe and Welcoming School District. Our commitment to empowering our LGBTQIA+ students, employees, and families has not changed. This tragedy gives us a sense of purpose as we work to give LGBTQIA+ communities’ voices, experiences and accomplishments a place to belong and to be seen. We do not discriminate on the basis of color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability.
We know that our schools are not only diverse learning spaces where our scholars can learn acceptance and belonging, they are also gathering places for recognition, understanding and appreciation of our differences. Our responsibility of making sure we are doing our part to foster empathy and kindness is ongoing. We will continue to work hard everyday to ensure that all of our students are engaged, healthy, safe and supported.
We also understand that incidents like this can cause feelings of trauma, fatigue and stress for individuals. As you navigate your feelings, we encourage all of you to utilize the resources shared below that have been compiled by our Student Equity and Mental Health teams.
We are Team DPS, and we stand together.