Positive School Climate, FAIL!

Over the last eight years, like so many people around the world, I've shared details of my life via social media: the joys and struggles, the victories and frustration, the fear and grief. Today, I post yet again, but begin by saying, "PLEASE!"

PLEASE READ THIS POST, AND SHARE IT!

As many of you know, a lot of my posts center around my children. In particular, my love and worry for Aksel, my seven-year-old son, who is autistic.

So, when a friend shared this photo (with me in private recently, asking for help) of her twelve-year-old son's back - a child who lives with autism in Charleston, SC - a kid, like yours or mine, who attends (an at-this-point unnamed) middle school within the Charleston County School District (CCSD) - I felt compelled to write, to share their story. (With her permission, of course.)

Because BULLYING is unacceptable, and the indifference (shown by school officials), justifying his cruel treatment, needs to end now! Full stop!

The boy pictured, who for the sake of privacy shall remain anonymous, was attacked at school on Friday (May 26, 2017) afternoon by a group of nine peers. They pushed him down, hit him repeatedly, and called him an "autistic retard."

In an effort to defend himself, the child attempted to push the ringleader off of him. He, the child pictured, was then "caught" by a superior and sent to the principal's office.

There, the child pleaded his case to no avail, and was sent back to his classroom. At no point, was his mother notified?! Yet, the child is regularly made to call his mother when he "speaks out of turn," which according to CCSD discipline standards is an infraction. Physical assault and bullying, on the other hand, are considered Level 3 offenses, worthy of expulsion. But still, no contact was made, and sadly the offenders were left unpunished. (Note, the child's mother only discovered the injuries a full day later, when they went to the beach.)

Now might I add, this isn't an isolated incident!

The child's mother has, on three separate occasions, over the course of the last three months, reached out to administrators to report offenses - of which include, similar physical mistreatment and name-calling.

Crickets...

And really, she's not asking for much. Nothing you, or I, wouldn't demand for our children. She just wants her son "to be able to go to school without being bullied." And furthermore, she wants him "to be taken seriously when he brings concerns to administration."

So I implore you, as a community of parents, grandparents, and professionals, to take a long look at this photo, and think.

Then, to take it one step further, I beg you to imagine...

Imagine how YOU would feel if this was YOUR child - a boy, scared to go to school, let down by a system that won't, or at least hasn't yet, protected him from harm and ridicule?

I won't, while I have breath in my body, let my child fall prey to this type of injustice. And she shouldn't have to either!

That said, there needs to be a change in our society, a fundamental re-teaching of kindness. And it starts at home!

With regard to the Charleston County School District, in the handling of this particular matter, your "test" score needs improvement. "Positive school climate," FAIL!

(I will keep you updated as this story develops. As of now, the mother has filed a police report, and has called for an emergency review of his IEP. The child will also not attend school until the issue is positively dealt with.)