Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 received a report that a student might have been armed near the high school on Friday, but police and school administrators determined that students were not in danger, according to an email from Principal Jason Wayman.
“From time to time, the district may receive a report of potential safety concerns from community members,” the high school principal said in the email. “All of these reports are taken seriously and referred to the police and they follow up on it.”
He added that most Safe2Tell reports are not threatening, and schools take additional safety measures when the threat is credible.
“In cases where the police notify us that they do not believe there is a credible threat, we proceed as usual with our school day but ask that our schools have a heightened awareness,” Wayman said.
Wayman also stated that safety is a priority in the school district, and that all RE-1 schools are “lockout, single point entry” facilities, and “no one can enter the building without being admitted by school personnel.”
In Friday’s email, Wayman reminded parents and guardians that students can report concerns about bullying, weapons, suicide or other threats anonymously to Safe2Tell Colorado at 1-877-542-7233 or safe2tellco.org. Safe2Tell reports are forwarded to local law enforcement and RE-1 administrators.
The Safe2Tell program was formed in response to school violence, but suicide threats have been the leading reason students file reports since the 2013-14 school year, according to a recent report by The Denver Post.
The Denver Post recently reported that the Safe2Tell program received nearly 2,800 reports related to suicide during the 2017-18 school year, surpassing bullying as the leading reason students contact the program.
