Accusations of Racism Create Losing Season for Vista Peak Prep Cheerleaders

In January 2025, the Vista Peak Preparatory cheer team competed in a prestigious national competition in Florida. It was the first time the team had gone to the contest — the first time that most members of the thirty-member squad had been to Florida — and hopes were as high as a cheer pyramid.

But then the program collapsed.

“My daughter, she loves cheer. It’s not just a sport to her. She loves her team members,” says a Vista Peak parent whose daughter said she was bullied that weekend. “The school, they didn’t do anything. It’s been a lot.”

The woman — we’re calling her Cassie because she asked that her real name not be used — said her daughter came back with stories about being forced to practice in the rain, being excluded from a team dinner because of her peanut allergies, and being made fun of not just by other cheer members, but the cheer coach. Cassie reported what her daughter had told her to the Vista Peak vice principal.

Vista Peak Prep is a pre-K through high school campus in east Aurora. According to Aurora Public Schools, the school is designed to provide “a seamless transition from preschool through graduation on a single campus, with more than 2,000 high school student. About 1,000 are Latino and 500 are Black, according to Colorado Department of Education figures; more than half of the members of the varsity cheer team last year were Black.

Westword spoke with four families whose children participated in Vista Peak’s cheerleading program over the last two years. The parents say the team’s then-head coach, Kristin Kindred, humiliated Black students and ignored serious injuries.

“We take all allegations of bullying and harassment seriously and thoroughly investigate each incident. We have been working closely with Vista Peak parents to understand and address their concerns,” says APS spokesperson Corey Christian. “We will continue to work with Vista Peak families to ensure that students and families feel valued and supported.”

The Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, a racial and social justice activist group, doesn’t cheer that response.

Complaints From Last Year

On February 14, 2025, Vista Peak principal Mehran Ahmed emailed Kristin Kindred, asking to meet with her regarding a parent’s complaint.

The Colorado high school cheer season ends in February, and before it wrapped up last year, Ahmed directed Vista Peak athletic director David Benedict to interview parents about what had happened at nationals, according to a February 25, 2025 email.

Benedict sent a group email to parents of cheer team members that day, “following up with a couple negative things with some parents,” he wrote. “Could you please provide the following to me by Friday (individually)? Where there any issue that arose or conflicts? If so, who was it between and how was it handled/resolved? If you have photos and videos of all the neat things you did, please also share! Thanks.”

Aurora Public Schools declined to release the responses from parents, saying they’re protected under federal law.

That same day, Kindred emailed Ahmed to say she was caught off guard by the school’s decision to investigate, which she’d learned of through her cheerleaders. According to Kindred, Ahmed told her not to worry, that she was the victim of abuse and harassment by parents.

“In finding out that there was an investigation being conducted to determine the reliability of a parent’s complaint in regards to nationals, was blindsiding and caught me off guard,” Kindred wrote. “Especially, when I was told not to worry about this parent and her allegations. Here we are doing an investigation. Not only have I been harassed by this parent, I have been accused of things simply for the fact to be accused.”

Kindred then threatened to suspend the 2025-’26 cheer season until school administrators came up with “a plan to reconcile” and “a formal apology from the family for their actions.” According to Colorado High School Activities Association bylaws, the power to shut down a season is restricted to “properly constituted school officials,” such as a school principal or the district superintendent.

Kindred followed up with another email to Ahmed on March 19. “Is there any update on the investigation? I haven’t heard anything yet and was curious as to what the next steps are,” she wrote. Ahmed responded that Benedict would arrange a meeting between Kindred and “the parent” who complained about nationals.

That meeting never took place, according to emails from Ahmed, who said Cassie — referred to as “the parent” — had stopped responding. “I thought they were going to help, but the vice principal immediately began defending” Kindred when she raised complaints about nationals, Cassie says, adding that she had previously contacted the vice principal regarding concerns about Kindred and nothing had been done. For example, at the start of the 2024-’25 season, she’d complained that her daughter was told she couldn’t cheer because her hair couldn’t be tied in a ponytail, but Kindred relented after Cassie mentioned the CROWN Act, a state law that prohibits discrimination based on hairstyles like braids, locks and curls.

Cheryl Carter, grandmother of Cassie’s child and founder of the Colorado Cotillion-Beautillion, a youth empowerment program, tells Westword that for the past two years, her family and others have shared concerns with Vista Peak administrators regarding how injuries were being handled. Cassie says she reported Kindred in 2024 after her daughter sustained a concussion.

“This lady, she can’t be trusted with my kid. I felt like she caused her concussion,” Cassie says. “Whatever issue the coach had with my daughter, she was being a bully. She was my daughter’s first bully.”

Still, despite Cassie’s suggestion that her daughter leave the team, she kept cheering. Her daughter “loved the team” and her fellow cheerleaders, Cassie says.

Three other families who asked that their names not be used tell Westword they had also reported Kindred’s behavior to Vista Peak officials during the 2024-’25 season, but say their communications were ignored.

“When I raised concerns, I hoped for resolutions and some understanding,” one mother says. “Instead, the response felt procedural and only focused on their ‘rules.’ It felt like the system wasn’t listening, and I don’t know if they will ever fully understand.”

But after Cassie submitted complaints to the Aurora Public School District after the nationals competition, the APSD got involved. Jason Maclin, the APSD director of high school operations, emailed Ahmed on April 22, 2025, asking him for “a full update on the current status of this as soon as possible,” then added,” Were there consequences for the involved students? Did we look into the professionalism concerns involving the staff members?”

Ahmed told Maclin that Vista Peak had interviewed “all parties” in January and February 2025, including “parents, students and adults,” and that “the parent” had stopped communicating; he then suggested that all of the complaints were coming from Cassie.

“It was a mix of statements stating the trip was amazing, everything was great to there was not enough food,” Ahmed wrote to Maclin. “We determined there needed to be a restorative conversation with the coach and parent. The parent went radio silent for the last month and half with no communication back to our athletic director.”

Not all of the complaints involved the nationals, though. Other families who spoke with Westword say their complaints about Kindred focused more on the emotional distress their children eported.

“It wasn’t one defining moment but a pattern that built over time,” one parent tells Westword. “Over time, my child began coming home feeling discouraged and singled out.”

“There were stretches where things seemed calm and normal, and then there were moments where the same concerns kept coming up,” another parent says. “That inconsistency made it hard for my child to feel secure in the program…My child felt like they were walking on eggshells.”

A third parent tells Westword that “what made it challenging was the unpredictability. Some interactions were positive, but others were very troubling.”

That parent adds: “What might feel like a small interaction to an adult can shape how a child sees themselves and their place in a program. My child had moments of excitement and connection on the team, but there were also experiences where my child felt disrespected and emotionally unsafe.”

Parents Didn’t Know Others Had Concerns

Kindred didn’t follow through on threats to cancel the season, and the district and the school hadn’t followed through on complaints by the time the 2025-’26 cheer season started last fall. But by December, Ahmed was agin reaching out to Kindred regarding parent complaints shared by MiDian Shofner, an Aurora racial justice activist and former Denver Public School Board member. As the CEO of the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, Shofner had interviewed families with complaints about Kindred.

Families had approached Shofner after Vista Peak didn’t seem to be addressing their concerns. According to Shofner, her organization interviewed eleven families and Vista Peak alumni between the ages of fifteen and 22, as well as six staff members.

“The cheerleading coach at Vista Peak was observed engaging in discriminatory behavior towards some of the athletes on the team,” Shofner says. “The families that have come to us have been the families of Black student athletes, and there have been some harsh comments made to some of these student athletes, there have been expectations that go against the CROWN act when it comes to how the girls wear their hair, and there has been intentional divisiveness.”

According to one parent whose daughter felt “discouraged and singled out,” she says, “The way Coach K spoke to my child at times felt dismissive and undermining. Watching my daughter go from confidence to self-doubt because of an adult in authority is incredibly painful.”

The team became “a harmful and psychologically unsafe space” for the cheerleaders whose families came out against Kindred, Shofner says, “and that’s the reason why we’ve been engaging with the school, the district and the board.”

Every family who spoke with Westword said Vista Peak administrators never mentioned that others had complained about Kindred’s coaching, leading them to believe that they were the only ones with concerns. Carter says that she learned she wasn’t alone after casually mentioning her granddaughter’s issues to Dr. Auset Ali, a board member for the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership.

“I was talking to the school in isolation, not even knowing what was happening,” Carter said. “I thought it was something I was dealing with in isolation because the school was non-responsive and sweeping it under the rug. I didn’t really know about the other situations.”

The families credit Shofner with connecting them, and helping to get the school and district to renew the investigation.

“Progress began when parents realized we were not alone,” one tells Westword. “When other families and people were being interviewed with the Epitome, that is when we saw things start to happen.”

In early January, almost a year after the Florida competition, APS officials mandated that Kindred meet with Alyssa Richason, an APS community equity specialist. Kindred complained to Ahmed that Shofner and Richason are friends, and sent screenshots of Instagram photos of them together in a January 6 email, arguing that APS was not “a neutral party” in the meeting. “Thank you for sharing this and we will follow up,” Ahmed responded.

In a February 13 text message to the school’s new athletic director, Jordan Ivey (Benedict left for a job at Smokey Hill in July), Kindred asked: “When will this group leave me alone?” Ivey responded by saying that he and Ahmed were considering having “our legal counsel send a cease and desist” order to the parents.

Later that day, Kindred resigned as the cheer coach. In an email to Ivey, she blamed “the continued harassment from the parents and community members,” and again threatened to shut down the ongoing Vista Peak cheer season.By that point, though, the cheer team’s competitive season had wrapped up, and students were just awaiting their annual team banquet.

“I would like to finish our season effective immediately. We will not proceed with the banquet or anything else,” Kindred wrote. “My heart is broken for all that I have poured into this program and have done for these girls. I am not okay. I ask that none of these parents or community members continue to contact me; the harassment needs to stop.”

Six minutes after she sent that email, Ivey forwarded it to Ahmed, who two minutes later forwarded it to Maclin. Six days later, Maclin responded, asking Ahmed to confirm Kindred’s resignation, which he did.

The school didn’t inform parents, though. Kindred’s resignation came four days before Shofner and Carter planned to share their concerns with the APS Board of Education during the public comments of a February 17 meeting.

Out in the Open

At that February 17 meeting — not knowing that Kindred had already resigned — Shofner, Carter and Dr. Auset Ali urged the APS board and Superintendent Michael Giles to take more action in response to complaints regarding the cheer coach.

“The silence of the board and the superintendent is very loud,” Shofner said. “When we reached out to you and when we do this work, we extend an invitation for you to be a participant in this process, not to onlook.”

Carter spurned the district for both poor communication and not stepping in to resolve the situation when APS was made aware of it. “It hasn’t been addressed. The girls are humiliated,” Carter said. “This has been circulated. It’s out there. No one seems to do anything.”

In response, APS boardmember Anne Keke insisted that “it’s not that the board isn’t doing anything or that it’s completely apathetic….We know it’s been going on for years, but it takes some time to navigate that, There have been multiple meetings, and you all know that it doesn’t take one meeting to fix a problem.”

No one at the meeting mentioned Kindred’s resignation, and it’s unclear if even the APS board knew of it.

On February 20, Kristen Davis, the assistant varsity cheer coach, submitted her immediate resignation to Ivey and Ahmed; she made it clear she supported Kindred.

“Unfortunately, the continued outlandish accusations from a small group of parents, along with ongoing harassment regarding matters beyond our control, have created circumstances in which I can no longer effectively support the program,” Davis wrote. “Although the school has made efforts to support us through these allegations and frequent challenges, the repeated false and character-defining statements have made it clear that remaining in this role is no longer in my best interest. I stand firmly behind every decision made regarding this team.”

Parents were officially informed of Kindred’s resignation on February 23, a week after the board meeting; in an email, Kindred told Ahmed she’d .informed parents of her decision and planned to tell her team the next day. An hour later, Ahmed sent an email to the families of the cheer team members, letting them know Kindred was no longer the coach.

“We would like to thank her for her leadership and service to our cheer team,” Ahmed wrote. “We understand that changes like this can bring questions about the future. At this time, we plan to thoughtfully assess the needs of our student athletes and the program.”

That afternoon, Kindred and Davis announced their decision to resign in a Facebook group for parents of Vista Peak varsity athletes. Davis wrote that “standing in full solidarity and respect for Coach K, I will also be stepping down as coach!”

Many parents were supportive. “It truly is a case of a few bad apples will spoil the whole bunch,” wrote Damon Jones. “Did anyone take into consideration that there’s a bunch of girls that feel opposite of what’s being portrayed? Parents, this isn’t a time to stay silent!”

Another parent, Reneika Johnson, told Kindred that “you’ve been a positive influence on my daughter and I truly appreciate you. It’s really sad that negativity from a few people is impacting the whole team.”

But another parent tells Westword that “empathy for a colleague should not come at the expense of listening to families.”

“I understand that people will support the people they work with because they don’t see the same things that my child had to experience,” another parent says. “But student experiences must be taken seriously.”

According to Carter, Kindred’s resignation only “put a band-aid” on the issue. She and her family are now demanding that Kindred be fired from her job as a teacher for Vista Peak Exceptional Student Services, which assists students with developmental and mental disabilities.

“Not only that, I think her license should be revoked,” Carter adds. “For a person to be in a position of trust and carry out these bullying, intimidating tactics on students, there’s just no way to justify that. There’s no reason that person should even still be in the school teaching.”

Until Shofner got involved, family members say that Vista Peak didn’t deal with their complaints. “What I needed most was acknowledgement,” one parent says. “It felt like my concern was being managed rather than engaged.”

Other cheer parents want Vista Peak officials not just to acknowledge their complaints, but talk to their daughters.

“I want systems that help my student to recover from what happened,” a parent suggests. “Maybe something like a conversation from the principal to the students admitting that what they went through was not okay.”

Several suggest that Vista Peak’s response — or lack thereof — is indicative of how the school treats Black families. “What it reveals is that systems sometimes struggle to respond quickly enough when Black families raise concerns,” says one parent.

Agrees another: “It was mostly Black people who had the issue, and that was kind of shocking. At Vista Peak, it is all about who you know, and if you don’t know the right people, you aren’t going to be treated fairly. So not having the right connections and being Black makes it really hard when you have an issue.”

APS has not confirmed whether Vista Peak will have a cheer team for the 2026-’27 season.

“Over the coming months, we will be engaging with families to plan for the future,” says APS spokesperson Corey Christiansen. “We will be thoughtfully assessing the needs of our student athletes and the program. Our priority is to ensure that any decisions made are in the best interest of our students and the broader school community.”