Bullying connected to code red alert
As a result of the Suwannee Democrat coverage on the code red alert called for the entire school system a couple of weeks ago, several family members — wishing to remain anonymous — have expressed concerns about their daughter who attended Suwannee Primary School at the time. They have since removed the child from the school system.
Family members said two days before the code red alert their second-grade daughter and two other second-grade girls were tied to the monkey bars by three older second-grade boys and slapped and kicked on the playground.
The mother said a few weeks before the incident her daughter began fearing school.
“She would leave for school in tears and come home crying,” the mother said. The parents said their daughter was not a problem at school and she made good grades and previously loved going to school.
“On the playground three boys took off their shoe laces, tied the girls to the monkey bars and told them if the girls moved, they would kick them,” the father said.
The day of the incident the second grader came home and told her mother what had happened, and the next day the mother went to the school to speak with the teacher.
The mother said the teacher had no knowledge of the event and told her there were more than 100 kids on the playground at one time, and they couldn’t all be watched. When she asked the teacher if the boys would be disciplined and how the situation would be handled, the teacher told her she could not discuss the school’s disciplinary action with her, the mother said.
One of the family members said the grandfather was so mad the day after the mother spoke with the teacher that he called the school telling officials he might come to the school with a shotgun to straighten things out. According to local law enforcement officials this caused school officials to declare a code red alert.
At the time of the code red alert, School Superintendent of Administrative Services Bill Yanossy said the entire school system was in lock down for about an hour, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving any campus grounds and prohibiting students from leaving the classroom until the situation was declared safe by law enforcement.
The alert was declared for all the schools because officials were uncertain whether there were other children within the family at other schools, Yanossy said.
At the time of the code red alert law enforcement officials said the grandfather did not attempt to go to the school, and the matter was resolved quickly. Also that day, the parents went to the school peaceably to remove their daughter from the school, the parents said.
Though the school principal or assistant principal were unavailable at the time the parents came to the school, the mother said SPS Principal Marilyn Jones called her later apologizing and telling her it would never happen again. Jones also promised her the boys would be dealt with, the mother said.
At the time of the code red alert, officials at the School Board Office would not disclose why the alert happened nor did they mention the bullying event.
Jones, contacted after the parents talked with the Democrat, said the family’s account of the incident was fairly accurate.
She said the incident was a wake-up call and school administration, teachers and school resource officers are working diligently to handle the situation.
“Not a sole on our staff would condone this behavior. This is unacceptable,” Jones said. “Providing a safe environment is imperative for learning.
“Jones said school officials interviewed the boys several times to determine what happened.
“It was a game of cops and robbers that got out of hand,” she said.
Jones said the boys are going through behavior counseling in and out of the classroom. As a part of character education teachers are focusing on bullying and intimidation.
Jones said she is disappointed that only one of the girls who was tied up came forward about the situation. “We are working on teaching kids to listen to teachers rather than bullies and to watch out for one another on the playground by telling the teacher when something like this goes on,” she said.
Jones said teachers are also working on developing a recess schedule to prevent having too many children on the playground at one time. They will also have designated areas for different classes to provide more structure, she said.
“No school is completely satisfied with its policies but is constantly working to improve them,” she said, emphasizing the school’s efforts in striving for excellence.
School Superintendent Walter Boatright said school officials are making every effort to address the bullying and harassment that took place on the playground.
“If steps we’re taking aren’t enough to resolve the issue, we are prepared to bring in outside counseling and assistance,” he said.
– Vanessa Fultz