Broomfield Students Will Take Part In National School Walkout Day

BROOMFIELD, CO -- See Broomfield HS Student Walkout LIVE here.

Broomfield High School junior Riley Judd marched in the Denver Women's March in January, and after the school massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last month, she knew where to look for help to set up a school walkout for March 14. She reached out to women's march organizer Cheetah McClellan and got right to work.

On Wednesday, March 14, students, staff, and supporters will walk out of schools across the country at precisely 10 a.m. for approximately 17 minutes in honor of the 17 people who were shot and killed in Florida.

In the Adams 12 school district, Legacy High School students planned a short walkout at 10 a.m. and other students asked permission for a counter-protest and planned to wear NRA t-shirts, the school district confirmed. It's unclear whether that counter protest will take place, administrators said.

The Broomfield High School walkout will be slightly more complicated than others in the area, because Judd wanted the community to be able to participate without stepping on the school grounds. The walkout will last from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., but students can choose to return to school at any time, Judd said.

Students are asked to wear orange, which is "the color of the movement" Judd said. Broomfield students will leave campus and march to the Broomfield City and County Building at 7 Descombes Dr. After a rally, students will return to school where they can choose to go back to class or sit outside the school and "write letters to Congress."

Judd, who founded the Young Democrats club at the high school, says she loves to be involved in local organizations, such as working as a volunteer at the Children's Hospital for mental health advocacy, she said.

Focusing on gun laws that many believe made school shootings possible, the Broomfield HS organizers say they want to promote state policies that can make gun laws stronger to help protect students from school gun massacres. "We're focused on what steps the state can take," she said, including a ban on assault rifles, raising the minimum purchase age from 18 to 21 and a bump stock ban. The state already outlawed high-capacity magazines. The march organizers also want to promote national policies for stricter access to guns, Judd said.

But Judd said the Broomfield students also want more security in the school district. "We'd like an SRO officer in every school, and a mental health professional in every school," Judd said.

School security officers

The Broomfield police Student Resource Officer team consists of three officers and a commanding sergeant, according to Broomfield Spokesperson Jolene Reefe.

One officer, paid for by the department, patrols Broomfield HS as well as the Broomfield Heights Middle School, the archdiocese schools (Nativity and Holy Family) and Jefferson Academy. Two other officers patrol the Adams 12 school districts, and their salaries par partially paid by Adams 12, Reefe said. One officer is assigned to Legacy High School and the other works at Westlake Middle School.

"We couldn't have more SROs unless the city council voted on a budget for that," Reefe said.

Boulder Valley Response

"Students across the nation, and at several BVSD schools, have indicated that they intend to participate in the national walkout," wrote Boulder Valley School District Superintendent Cindy Stevenson in a letter to parents. "Boulder Valley School District believes in allowing students the opportunity to express themselves while also ensuring their safety.

"It is important to us that our students learn to be independent, critical thinkers who contribute to a democratic society in a positive way. We also understand that students may have differing opinions about the walkout and the issues surrounding the event. BVSD is working to ensure any student-led demonstrations and student-led counter demonstrations are carried out in a safe, peaceful and respectful manner that does not infringe upon the rights and safety of others."

Adams 12 Response

Adams 12 confirmed that students with a "different perspective" had asked to wear "specific shirts" on the day of the march.

"School administration has worked with students who wish to participate in a student-led walkout/demonstration to help them focus the conversation on what the students are attempting to accomplish with a demonstration, while ensuring student safety," wrote Christina Dahmen, communications manager. "Other students have a different perspective and have approached administration with the desire to express their views by wearing specific shirts. Students were reminded, like every other school day, they should follow the district's student dress code." Dahmen said as of March 12 the district did not think any counter-protest was planned.

"In the event students want to leave class to participate in a student-led demonstration, they will be allowed to do so and we will follow our normal policies regarding student attendance," Superintendent Chris Gdowski wrote to parents Tuesday. "Any students leaving school grounds will not be supervised by school or district staff."

Adams 12 school policies will be as follows:

• Elementary and Middle School parents should follow normal student checkout procedures should their student be leaving school. Students cannot leave the school without a parent/guardian checking the student out of the building.
• At High Schools, regular attendance will be taken and parents wishing to excuse their student’s absence should follow the school’s published attendance policy.

Which Schools are participating

The following Boulder Valley School District, Adams 12, JeffCo and Archdiocese schools will participate in the walkout, according to the national website Women's March Youth EMPOWER and Broomfield police department:

• Broomfield High
• Prospect Ridge Academy
• Jefferson Academy
• Holy Family
• Louisville's Monarch High,
• Erie High,
• Longmont High,
• Lyons Middle/Senior, Longmont's Skyline High,
• Mead High
• Lafayette's Peak to Peak Charter School.
• Prospect Ridge Academy

Check Whether Your School Is Officially Involved

To find out if your school is participating, plug in your zip code and check out the map on the Women's March website. https://www.actionnetwork.org/...
Another nationwide school walkout is scheduled for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. http://nationalschoolwalkout.u...

April 28 Youth March on Denver.

On March 24, "March for our Lives" rallies are scheduled nationwide for demonstrators to protest gun violence. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018...

Image Riley Judd at Women's March in Denver, 2018 (Courtesy Riley Judd)