PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A parent of three students in the Bethel School District, who didn’t want to use her name for fear her children would be further bullied, said the district’s approach to bullying is not working, and her own daughter is proof.
“It started when my middle daughter was in elementary school. She started being bullied by a girl in her class,” she explained. “She told me about it. We talked to the counselor. We talked to the teacher. We talked to the principal. I thought it was being handled.”
But she said that it wasn’t. The bullying continued for years and only got worse, according to the mother.
“This girl eventually convinced all the girls in her class to not talk to my child and completely ostracize and isolate her from the class,” she said.
After years of alleged abuse, the parent said the district finally stepped in but only after her daughter said she didn’t want to live anymore.
Now she’s asking, “Why did it take my child wanting to kill themselves before the school decided that was important?”
In a statement, the Bethel School District said it wouldn't address specific complaints, but “we encourage parents to address these issues at their local schools where the problems occur and resolutions can be found.”
This parent said her daughter isn’t the only student to deal with extreme bullying.
On Wednesday, a 14-year-old student in Bethel High School was arrested and booked for second-degree assault after deputies say he put a belt around a teacher's neck.
The incident was shared in a Facebook group of parents of students in the Bethel School District, which led to parents sharing their experiences with what they feel is a failure to properly address misbehavior and violence.
A district spokesperson said the discipline rates at Bethel schools are comparable to similar schools in the surrounding South Puget Sound area.
"That said, the discipline rate reflects the number of suspensions, which means we are holding students accountable for poor behavior," said Bethel School District spokesperson Doug Boyles.
The Bethel School District has encouraged students to speak up when they see bullying, such as the incident with Landon Vance, a student with autism who was attacked in a Graham-Kapowsin High School bathroom last month. Vance’s attacker was charged with misdemeanor assault as a result.
Now the parent who said their child was bullied in elementary school is calling on Superintendent Tom Seigel to step up and do more to keep her children safe because no child should have to try to learn in these conditions.
“All three of my kids are now in counseling. Two of my kids are seeing a psychiatrist,” she said. “If you’re having teachers getting choked out at a high school that you have been in charge of the district for 20 years, and this is happening, obviously you’re not doing a good job. Obviously, something needs to change.”