Tomorrow morning our kindergarten through 5th grade students will start the day on the front lawn.  Grade level teachers will be standing together to welcome kids and touch base with parents.  There will be dedicated mental health support available for each grade level. Shortly after the second bell, we will make our way into the building.  For kindergarten through 5th grade students who may prefer a quiet entrance, we will have staff available to receive them at the back door by kindergarten and the art room.    

Preschool teachers will be waiting to receive students at their classroom exterior door.  There will be dedicated preschool mental health support available at that time as well as a law enforcement presence.

As we prepare to welcome your child/children back to school tomorrow, we are intentionally preparing for their unique needs with the support of the district mental health team.  We will have district and state mental health professionals with each grade to start the day. These school mental health professionals typically work in other buildings around Jeffco and Colorado and are uniquely trained in crisis response and recovery. They will support all morning meetings and provide support where they are needed most in the building, based on classroom schedules and times of day that may be harder for some grades than others. 

There will be a care center open in the library for students who need a higher level of support. When students need a higher level of support, a member of our team will escort them to the library. Additionally, we will have staff support with guest teachers, and our Employee Assistance Program therapists will be set up in the Wildcat room.

At the end of the day, we will discuss our needs for Tuesday and work with our district and community partners to give all Wilmot students and families extra individualized support at this difficult time. We will do this daily for as long as we need to. 

District leadership is working with other county, state, and community agencies to make sure we have ongoing support in our community as we begin to think about healing in the weeks and months to come. I will share information as I know more. 

To share more about what our morning meetings will look like on September 15th and language our teachers will use, please view this document. To create this resource, we’ve relied on information from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). Specifically, we’ve used  Tips for Talking To Children About Violence and Helping Children Cope with Unsettling Times. Teachers also have access to these resources. My team will also be checking-in on teacher teams on Monday morning to make sure they feel prepared with clear concise messaging and strategies to support students under these circumstances as well. 

We found in conversations with students and families on Friday that our 4th graders were uniquely impacted by having to lockdown in the kitchen area. In recognition of that, they are going to have lunch in their classrooms tomorrow and possibly for the rest of this week.  I will wait for guidance from our 4th grade teachers about how their students are feeling and when they are ready to try eating in the cafeteria again.

Many parents have asked how they can help.  Providing additional support for recess supervision is one way you can support.  If you would like to be present during recess, please come check in at the office and grab a vest before heading out to recess. You can find the schedules below.

After any emergency situation, it is important to learn from what went well and identify places where we can improve.  If you have feedback, questions or ideas that you would like to share, please fill out this google form: Wilmot Community: Questions, Feedback & Ideas.  When I meet with district leaders to debrief, I will share this information with them.  If you are interested in advocating for increased School Resource Officer support in schools, we’ve been told that the most effective way is to contact the county commissioners, since they set the county budget. Reaching out to the school board is also an option, as they may be able to allocate more funding to the SRO program. For both the county and the school district, the most significant barrier is funding to support SROs.  In the coming days, I will share links for fundraising efforts in support of Evergreen High School students and staff, as well as the broader community.  

Our Wilmot staff is committed to walking alongside you as we process and heal together as a community. Thank you again for your patience, your trust and the support you’ve shown to us, and one another. We are a strong and resilient community – we will get through this together. 

Sincerely,

Stephany Fritz

Principal, Wilmot Elementary

We are excited to introduce our new guest management system, Raptor.  Please take a moment to read through the Raptor Welcome letter above.  

What this means for visiting Wilmot:

1. ALL visitors who plan to enter the building past the office area will be required to sign into the Raptor system.  

2. Please bring your photo ID in order to check in.  You will scan it into Raptor and be issued a visitor's badge prior to entering the school. Visitors may also download the Raptor app and gain entry using their personal QR code from the app.  Raptor App Directions

3. If you plan to chaperone a field trip and take a group of students with you, or drive students, you will need to complete the POI process as well.  The POI clearance is for one school year only and has been re-set by the district over the summer.  All chaperones will need to complete a new POI process for the 25-26 school year.  Paperwork and the $17 processing fee should be brought to Mrs. Allen in the main office. Please see the two required forms below.  

POI form & POI Disclaimer form

Important Links