Students at a Douglas County elementary school were evacuated Thursday morning after an iPad exploded and set off a fire alarm, district officials said.
The device exploded in a technology office at Mammoth Heights Elementary School at 9500 Stonegate Pkwy, Douglas County School District spokesperson Paula Hans said in an email.
That office space is not used by students, and the one staff member in the room was not injured, Hans said.
The explosion set off the fire alarm and evacuated the school. South Metro Fire Rescue crews responded and determined it was safe for students and staff to return to the building, Hans said.
The incident left a small burn mark on the office floor, she added.
South Metro officials confirmed crews responded to a hazardous materials call at the school at 10:58 a.m. and said there was no threat to the community.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Sterling Ranch, one of Colorado’s master-planned communities, has become the center of a heated debate over school land.
The controversy centered on whether John Adams Academy, a 26-acre charter school currently under construction in Sterling Ranch, should count toward the developers’ commitment to dedicate 110 acres for schools in the community.
Douglas County leaders faced the decision Tuesday night of whether to include the charter school in the public school land dedication total, with state law defining charter schools as public institutions.
Ultimately, commissioners voted unanimously to allow John Adams Academy to be included, and Sterling Ranch developers increased their land donation from 110 acres to 125 acres, which they said will create space for another district-led school.
Leading up to the vote, there was nearly four hours of public comment.
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Pictured: A packed house at Tuesday’s Land Use Public Hearing in Douglas County
“This is in honor of fairness and honoring parental choice,” one woman said at the podium, in support of including the charter in the land dedication.
However, other residents argued the decision would break promises made about traditional neighborhood schools, which influenced their decision to move to Sterling Ranch in the first place.
“Making this change damages our community potential and community trust,” one resident told Douglas County commissioners.
Robyn DePan, a Sterling Ranch mother leading efforts for more district-led schools in the community, expressed concerns about future educational options if they amendment to Sterling Ranch’s planned development agreement passed.
Right now, a DCSD public elementary school funded by a bond passed last year is set to open in Sterling Ranch in fall of 2027.
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Pictured: Robyn DePan, Lives in Sterling Ranch
“I have fears and cautions that if this amendment passes, we’ll never have another Douglas County School District school here, and that means we have one elementary school and we’ll never have a middle or high school,” DePan said.
Ellie Reynolds, co-founder of John Adams Academy, defended the charter school’s inclusion in the land dedication.
“My big message to everyone is that charter schools are public schools, and they should qualify for land dedication, just like district schools,” Reynolds said.
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Pictured: Ellie Reynolds, co-founder of John Adams Academy in Sterling Ranch
Commissioners praised Brock Smethills, president of Sterling Ranch development company, for offering up the additional land at the end of the public hearing.
After the vote, Douglas County Schools provided Denver7 with this statement which says in part, “We are disappointed that a land use issue where the district’s primary concern is ensuring that sufficient land for future schools is set aside turned into a debate about charter schools.”
You can read the full statement from DCSD below:
“We are disappointed that a land use issue where the district’s primary concern is ensuring that sufficient land for future schools is set aside turned into a debate about charter schools. 25% of our students attend public charter schools and we honor those family choices and appreciate all of our amazing schools, neighborhood and charter.
It was also disappointing that the County Commissioners denied the school district the opportunity to testify as a referral agency and a community partner. The School District’s priority remains the best interest of our students (current and future) and our community.
We will continue to work with Sterling Ranch and the County on solutions that benefit our entire community and we believe some progress is being made in that regard.”
Douglas County School District
Conversations between the school district and developers are expected to continue in the coming months as the community continues to grow.
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A middle school health teacher in Douglas County was arrested Monday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child, according to the sheriff’s office.
Teresa Whalin, a 28-year-old woman from Centennial, was arrested on investigation of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, internet exploitation of a child and stalking, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Whalin, an integrated wellness teacher at Ranch View Middle School teacher, has been employed by Douglas County School District since July 2021, according to a letter sent to parents by Ranch View principal Erin Kyllo.
As of Wednesday, Whalin had been placed on administrative leave by the school district, Kyllo wrote in the letter.
“We are working to find a long-term substitute teacher for our impacted students,” Kyllo wrote. “In the meantime, the entire Ranch View Middle School administrative team will support our students and ensure learning continues.”
Additional information about the incident was not available Wednesday. School district officials cited the ongoing investigation and the “sensitive nature of the allegations.”
Anyone with information about Whalin or additional victims is asked to contact investigators at sclay@dcsheriff.net.
“I know it is concerning to receive news of this nature,” Kyllo wrote to parents. “Please know the safety and well-being of every student is of primary importance to Ranch View Middle School and the Douglas County School District.”
Christen Cassic, 55, of Parker was arrested in January on suspicion of sexual exploitation of a child, a felony, and indecent exposure. The indecent-exposure charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Cassic started working as an assistant coach at Legend High School in 2015 and also worked there as a math teacher from 2019 to 2022. He was hired as an assistant coach and computer science teacher at Rock Canyon High School in 2022.
According to reporting from Colorado Community Media, Cassic was arrested after someone walked into his classroom at Rock Canyon and found him with his pants down looking at a laptop, which he quickly closed.
Cassic later admitted to having a USB drive with explicit photos that he viewed at school, which detectives say contained suspected child sexual abuse material.
One person was cited after accidentally firing a gun and hitting the door of a Highlands Ranch middle school Wednesday morning, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to Ranch View Middle School, 1731 W. Wildcat Reserve Parkway, after a student and teacher reported a loud noise at 11:15 a.m., sheriff’s office spokesperson Deborah Takahara said.
The sheriff’s office found a neighbor had accidentally fired a gun and the bullet struck a door at the school, causing minor damage, Takahara said.
No one was injured in the incident.
Additional details about what charges the neighbor was cited for were not immediately available, and Douglas County School District officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — At $490 million, the Douglas County School District’s 2024 bond request pales in comparison to surrounding districts asking for nearly a billion dollars. The question is whether voters will approve funding that they voted down last year.
This time around, the district is asking for money to build new schools and make improvements to existing schools, particularly in Highlands Ranch, where some elementary schools will soon close due to declining enrollment.
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Superintendent Erin Kane said the school board will vote in the spring on which elementary schools to close.
“The bottom line is we had 10,000 elementary kids in Highlands Ranch spread over 18 buildings back in 2012 and today we have about 7,000 kids stretched over the same 18 buildings,” Kane said
Money in the bond would be used to make improvements to the buildings that will receive students once the schools are consolidated.
Where the bond money comes from explained in the video player below:
Schools asking voters for billions of dollars to make facility improvements
The largest chunk of the bond though — $150 million dollars — would build new schools. The Sterling Ranch/Solstice community and the RidgeGate community in Lone Tree would each get a new elementary school. Sierra Middle School in Parker would also get an expansion.
