Skip To Main Content

Icon Navigation

Main Navigation Mobile

Header Links Mobile

Schools Trigger

Desktop Schools Menu

Quicklinks

Header Links

Mobile Menu Button

Logo Image

Logo Title

Breadcrumb

Adams 12 Five Star Schools' eyes and ears

  • Focus on Students
Adams 12 Five Star Schools' eyes and ears

Ongoing Training
In February, Adams 12 Five Star Schools dispatchers from the district’s 24-hour Communication Center (Comm Center) participated in a mass casualty incident drill at Stargate Charter School, alongside Thornton Police and Thornton 911 Dispatch.

During the multiple-day training, the district’s dispatchers initiated and coordinated an emergency response to a real-life school incident. The training allowed the district’s dispatchers to work with School Resource Officers (SROs), patrol officers and 911 dispatchers in a setting that simulated the chaos and intensity of actual events. During the scenarios, the district’s dispatchers practiced receiving numerous messages while providing clear and concise communications to multiple responders. 

The recent training by the Adams 12 Emergency Services Dispatchers highlights the Comm Center staff's professionalism and reflects their legacy. 

Comm Center History
Last October, the Comm Center celebrated its 25th year of continuous service to the staff, students, and the greater Five Star Community. 

In 1998, Adams 12 Five Star Schools became one of the first in the state to establish a round-the-clock communications center to serve the district. As the district grew, it became clear that the needs of staff and the community continued after business hours. The result was a small room staffed with a dispatcher and equipped with phones, computers and radios to monitor the district’s fire, life and safety needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. 

The original Comm Center was a part of the district’s “bus barn” located off of 144th Avenue and Washington Street in Thornton. Now housed in the district’s Educational Support Center, the Comm Center still has phones, computers and radios, but its role has grown in size and complexity.

In 2024, the Comm Center now receives live feed from more than 2,300 surveillance cameras, dispatches fire and police to various situations, and protects food and technology assets by monitoring temperatures in freezers, electronic rooms, etc. The Comm Center’s eight dispatchers work hand-in-hand with district security as an extra set of eyes and ears while on patrol or responding to a school. Additionally, today’s Comm Center programs and schedules building access; serves as an after-hours liaison for the community use of district buildings; and contacts maintenance and other staff as needed during nights, weekends, and holidays. 

The dispatchers never know what will be reported or what kind of questions will come into the Comm Center, but they do know that it will be busy. During the first two weeks of the 2023-24 school year, the Comm Center made and received over 1,100 phone calls. 

“This is who we are. We serve as the connection hub of the district,” said Jacquelyn Brown, Emergency Dispatch Lead. 

Congratulations, Comm Center, on your 25 years of service and dedication to providing excellent service to Adams 12 Five Star Schools!