Terror at a local school

The other night I heard a snippet on the local news which caught my interest. I was on my way to bed but stopped in my tracks when I heard a story about a girl's family suing a local school. The suit is being pursued because the 14 yr old girl and four other's were sexually assaulted repeatedly, yet when they informed the school the boy they accused was asked to apologize and received a three day suspension. He later violently raped the girls, even leaving a blood smeared hand print as a "trophy" in the stairwell where he committed the act. The hand print remained for several days and was still there when he dragged the girl who is suing by her hair into the same stairwell and raped her as well.

At this point the boy has been charged, but as I listened to the story I was baffled as to why school officials had not acted sooner after initial reports...then I heard it, the brief mention at the end of the report that all five survivors are girls enrolled in the school's special education program. Immediately I was angered as the realization hit me that the school didn't act because it questioned the "credibility" of the girls. This may or may not be the case, but for me it rings true. The girls were in essence asked to hush as the school swept the incident under the carpet.

After seeing this, and hearing of earlier attacks in local schools I am increasingly concerned about what is happening in what should be a safe environment. I am concerned that schools are not being proactive, they are not acting when there is a problem. I would like to know that at my children's schools students are not only being taught about math and history, but they are also being taught about diversity, acceptance, personal power and how to report problems. I know for a fact that at the school my children attend these issues have never been addressed as they might apply to all students. Well I'm mad, and I'm worried and I have a BIG mouth! So between now and the new school year they are going to hear from me and every student and parent I can rally to join me to ensure that starting now the school's really start working toward inclusion and safety above all else! I encourage you to contact your own schools, find a list of local resources where you can refer them for support and then don't let it drop! If schools are proactive and promote safety and awareness these things can be prevented. If students are educated they can protect themselves and others, and perhaps think twice before hurting a fellow student.
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To read about this story visit the link below.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08183/893901-52.stm