A school in Blenheim is being accused of doing little to stop bullying from happening.
Several parents of students at Harwich Raleigh Public School believe the school's leadership, specifically its principal, is ignoring incidents and allowing students to continue being targeted.
Five parents spoke to CK News Today to share their childrens' stories and what they say is the lack of response from the school.
The first to speak publicly was Josh Huebschwerlen. Just before this past March Break, his son was told by another student that they were going to bring a knife to school and kill him.
Chatham-Kent (CK) police were contacted and spoke with the student who allegedly made the threats directly at the school. Fortunately, the student did not have a knife.
Huebschwerlen said the school did nothing to ensure his son's safety after the threat was made, instead issuing him a trespassing order after speaking with the principal. The order remains in place, with Huebschwerlen explaining that he was first told it was issued because he let his son talk back to the principal, with the reason later changing to him being loud.
After multiple meetings with members of the Lambton Kent District School Board (LKDSB), Huebschwerlen said the school finally put a safety plan in place.
Even though he's happy that a plan has been made, he remains frustrated with how much effort it took to get it.
"This should have never happened. There are policies and procedures in place that need to be followed, and the board doesn't follow them," said Huebschwerlen.
Another parent who believes the school didn't handle this situation properly is Sean Ions. He and Huebschwerlen's sons are friends, with both kids being on the same call when the threat was made.
Since his son wasn't directly involved, Ions understands there's information he can't obtain for privacy reasons. That said, he doesn't understand how the student who made the threats was given what amounted to a slap on the wrist.
The first thing Ions thought of when learning about the entire situation was all the violence that has happened at schools across North America.
"Every time I turn around, I hear about a shooting, and I'm thinking, did they have this kind of warning that they just ignored?" he added.
His fear went into overdrive when he found out the class was taking a field trip outside Blenheim, and the school refused to share any plans to ensure every student's safety.
Candice Milley, whose daughter attends Harwich Raleigh, has concerns about the school's handling of another issue.
She claimed that her daughter repeatedly received threats from another student during the previous school year. She experienced it herself when she visited the school and was told by the student that they wanted to hurt her daughter.
Milley explained that the school and the student's parents agreed to transfer them to another school, but she recently found out they were allowed back in.
"Hearing that they were leaving the school, I was just going to leave it because it's been dealt with, but now I find out that it was never actually dealt with," she said.
To Milley, it felt like the school gave her false hope. What made it more frustrating was the conversations she had with the principal, trying to figure out why the student was allowed back.
"It's like [they don't] have any memory of the situation, or just [don't] care," she explained.
Milley isn't the only mom with concerns, as Carly Sorokopas said the school is allowing her daughter to continue being sexually harassed.
The incidents happened on her daughter's school bus. Sorokopas understands that the school buses are operated by a private company, but wanted to see the school's leadership step up to ensure the situation stops and doesn't spread to the actual school.
"They assigned her a seat that was diagonally across, so the [other student] was still in the row in front of her, still able to make comments and gestures," she said.
Sorokopas noted that the student has even tried to touch her daughter, forcing her daughter to refuse the assigned seating. She also explained that her daughter has made several reports, but nothing was done except for the bus seating plan.
When Sorokopas tried to see what information the school had on the incidents, she said she was told she couldn't see it.
"This is my daughter and I can't have any information," she noted.
Sorokopas later explained that she was able to see some handwritten notes about one incident, though it only mentioned that her daughter was called fat and nothing about any sexual harassment.
It's not just parents of bullying victims who are upset with the school.
Julie Brady recently found out that her son was bullying another student. She said she was told of one incident and believed the situation had been resolved, but was contacted by the mother of the student being bullied.
"I just sat there and cried. I read the whole thing that this parent [sent me]. Had I known, I could have helped my son and helped this girl," she explained.
What made Brady even more upset was when the other parent told her that the school had been in contact with her. Besides the one incident that she was aware of, Brady said she had no idea that her son was still bullying this girl.
"This bullying has been going on with this girl for months, since the beginning of September. I only knew of one incident," she explained.
All five parents want to see the school's principal held accountable for what they believe is a lack of action against bullying. Huebschwerlen also believes the LKDSB deserves some blame, as he thinks it has been focused on protecting the school's image and not its students.
As for the LKDSB, it claims it take all incidents of bullying seriously.
"Any time a concern involving student behaviour or safety is reported, school administration and the LKDSB Safe Schools Team respond immediately, follow all Board policies and procedures, and consult with police when required. We work closely with our local police services, and when police are involved, we act under their guidance and direction. All reported incidents are thoroughly investigated. Outcomes may include a range of responses under the Ministry of Education’s progressive discipline framework," read a statement from LKDSB.
It added that it can't share certain details because of strict privacy legislation.
"We cannot share details of any staff-specific actions or safety plans, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings about what has or has not occurred, as well. Ensuring the safety and well‑being of our students and staff remains our highest priority, and we remain committed to working with families and community partners to support a safe school environment," read the statement.
The LKDSB also mentioned in its statement that each of the situations raised by the parents was properly addressed and that it is willing to review them to help resolve their concerns.
