ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Friday marks the third day of the Sheridan Educators Association (SEA) strike, where the conversation around the future of their contract has dominated the headlines.
The educators have worked the past school year without a contract, according to the union, which has also voiced concerns around retaliation in the district when it comes to staff members who have spoken out about safety concerns.
Before the strike began, teachers from the district and across the Denver metro area met to prepare the signs seen on the picket line, where those perspectives were reiterated.
"We need to have a say in what we're actually doing, what we want," said Christy DiLuca, a speech language pathologist in Sheridan School District. "Also, I don't feel that things have been safe for the families. I think it's been very unjust what happened to one of my co-workers — that she was let go because she spoke out, and it's not right.”
For the first time, Denver7 met with one of those staff members — specifically, the individual referenced by DiLuca — who shared their story hoping it leads to a solution for their former students.
Hear directly from that former staff member who raised the alarm about an issue with one classroom's emergency system in the video below.
Baylee Patterson said she knew since her freshman year of college that she was passionate about social work.
"It is hard work, yes, but it's fulfilling to know that I can be there during the hard times too," Patterson said.
Her first job as a school social worker was in Sheridan School District, according to Patterson, where she started at Alice Terry Elementary School in November 2023.
"Sheridan became my family. They still are," she said with a smile. “A lot of the kids that are in second grade now, I've had since they were in kindergarten. So, I've watched them grow up and watched them develop their own personalities, and learn how to handle those big emotions and those hard parts in their life.”
During the time that Patterson worked at the school, she claimed the emergency system was not working properly in one teacher's classroom.
"It was one of those things where I knew that if an emergency happened, that classroom would be the first one that I would run to, just because it's tucked away in a corner and she isn't able to call emergency like she should be able to," Patterson explained.
According to Patterson, she was asked by parents about the safety system at the start of the spring semester.
"I wanted them to know the truth and know that it doesn't work properly, because they are asking about the well-being of their child, the safety of their child, multiple parents. And so that is why I felt the need to tell them that it wasn't working," Patterson said.
She continued to tell Denver7 that she informed a parent — Julie Blakely — about the alleged issue on Feb. 17.
"I told her about the emergency button that didn't work. So when you go to press it, it's supposed to call the front office in case of an emergency, and it doesn't work," Patterson said. "When they press that button, it's supposed to say, 'Lockdown. Lockdown. Lights. Out of sight.' And that wasn't working.”
"I feel like they won't get an alert if something serious happens in this school. They won't hear the alarm go off," Blakely told Denver7.
Patterson said that Feb. 17 became her last day working at the district.
"It got back to the superintendent that I had done that, and within three hours, I was called to his office and terminated from my position," Patterson said.
The former social worker provided Denver7 with a recording she claims captured the interaction that ended her contract with the school early. Denver7 has verified with multiple sources that the recording appears to depict the voice of Superintendent Dr. Gionni Thompson.
A spokesperson with the school district told Denver7 that they were "unaware" of the recording, so they could not "verify any voices, or comment on its contents." On March 31, Denver7 emailed a copy of the recording to the school district's communications team and the superintendent, asking to verify the accuracy of it.
Instead of directly acknowledging the recording, the district responded with the following statement:
“The person you referenced in your email was not a Sheridan School District No.2 employee. The contracted worker in question did not meet Sheridan School District No.2’s high standards when it comes to student safety and campus security.”
Denver7 first reached out to Thompson about this story on Feb. 27, requesting a conversation regarding school safety concerns. Instead, a response from the school district was sent over on March 2, declining an interview because they do not comment on "personnel matters, including employment decisions."
The email continued to say that "the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority. We continuously review and evaluate our safety procedures to ensure they are effective and aligned with established best practices."
"I know that the emergency system at Sheridan School District has not worked properly for multiple years," said Kate Biester, president of the SEA. "I can't say that there was never any attempts to try to fix the problem, but I don't believe that there was ever a full-scale solution to the problem."
Biester, who is also a social studies teacher at Sheridan High School, said she does not feel safe in her classroom.
"I would love to have the speaker in my classroom work properly. I have still not received an announcement in my classroom that I think is audible," Biester said. "The only reason that we're calling attention to this issue is to be able to get it solved and to get it fixed, so that our students are safe.”
Patterson provided Denver7 with a document sent to Alice Terry Elementary School that details the "Plan B Emergency Communications Protocol."
It begins by stating that "we recognize speaker audio is not available in every classroom" and that "in-house radios" are the backup method for notifying staff of emergency situations.
For Patterson, she hopes sounding the alarm on this system leads to a prompt response from the district.
"At the end of the day, I was doing what I had to do to make sure the kids were safe, and that's important to me," Patterson said.
