Often school leaders try to muddy the waters when it comes to bullying taking place on campus, but the new superintendent in Harford County, Md., is trying to get to the bottom of bullying problems in her schools, according to comments posted on a local news website.
On March 10, at a regular meeting of the county’s school board, one parent expressed concerns about how badly the district handles bullying, which kids allegedly suffer not only from peers but from teachers and administrators in the county’s schools.
“A student in [a] language arts class grabbed [my] daughter’s knee and pushed her dislocated knee into a desk,” April Parsons told the school board.
Then, another parent, Janice Wright, told the board at its March 24 meeting that “a mom whose 7-year-old son attended [one] elementary [school in the district], walked in to find six adults holding her son up against a wall. He sustained bruises and blood in his urine.”
Interim Superintendent Barbara Canavan, who took over this school year on a one-year contract, said she wanted to meet with Ms Wright in order to discuss the bullying and encourage those people referenced in her comments to the board to come forward and report the incidents to authorities.
“Ms Canavan had the strength of character to immediately address this issue with the parent and to encourage other parents to come forward,” one commenter wrote. “That is a good leader. I like what I see so far in this woman.”
And while that is promising, it is also discouraging to me personally that these issues are often dealt with properly, in support of the students who are being bullied, only after attention is drawn to the situation.
Consider a case in North Carolina, in which Grayson Bruce, 9, was bullied because he wanted to bring his My Little Pony bookbag to school. Administrators at Grayson’s elementary school had banned the bookbag, calling it a “trigger for bullying,” according to a story in the Huffington Post.
After national media attention was drawn to Grayson’s school district, TODAY.com said he left the school district.
Then the school did a 180, posting the resolution on its Facebook page:
We have appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Bruce family and discuss the issues. We sincerely regret that the issue of being told to leave the bookbag at home was perceived as blaming Grayson. While that was not the intent, the perception became reality. We support Grayson bringing the bookbag to school.
We discussed a number of options to consider in moving forward for Grayson. All of the options discussed included a safety transition plan and an allowance for Grayson to bring the bookbag to school.
Every situation with young children is a teachable moment and we will use this example in our efforts to address a wider issue of bullying. The Bruce family has committed to working with us to improve and enhance our anti-bullying programs.
We ask for everyone’s patience and understanding as we continue to work collaboratively with the family toward a resolution that is best for Grayson and his classmates at Candler Elementary School.
But people whose children attend Buncombe County Schools aren’t so easily persuaded.
“This is just a post to turn our minds around. We won’t ever forget your actions. Nor will we forgive what you almost made Grayson do,” one poster said on the district’s Facebook page. “Notice, you made this post right after he had appeared on Good Morning America and got so much national attention. You only did something whenever everyone looks at you.
“You’re supposed to do the right thing, even when no one is watching. I hope you guys don’t blame the victim the next time someone has a different point of view on something else others may not like. Do the right thing next time.”