Letter: Bullying in Spring-Ford Addressed by Parent

This is a Letter to the Editor from a Spring-Ford Area School District parent:

To Whom It May Concern,

It’s summer time once again for the kids of the Spring-ford School District and for most kids that means sleeping in, swimming, vacations, etc.  For my son, it means knowing that for the next two months he will get a break from the relentless bullying he faces within the halls of school and on his bus ride home. He won’t have to walk into school with fear in his heart and he won’t have fight back tears because of cruel words thrown at him. Summer break means he is safe.

As each new school year approaches he grows quieter and quieter knowing what is ahead of him.  He gets locked out of his classrooms, his personal belongings get destroyed if he has to leave the classroom for a minute, he gets picked up, pushed down, and constantly threatened.  On the school bus he gets harassed and assaulted and often comes home with bruises.  Every morning he asks if he can stay home because he is scared.  Every afternoon he comes home and tells me about more things that happened to him.  School is a nightmare for him.

As a mom I’ve done everything I can think of aside from actually going to school with him to keep him safe.  I have spoken to principals, guidance counselors, teachers, and even the police.  Do you know what difference all of that has made?  It made the bullying worse. What do I do now?  Where are the adults in this school and how do I keep him safe from home when the faculty can’t keep him safe form within the same building? With no regard to his mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing, the kids constantly and repeatedly attack him.  He isn’t anything more than a target to them and I fear with time he won’t be any more than that to himself.

Bullying is such a massive problem within the Spring-ford school district; well at least it is for the kids being bullied. My son’s experience has taught me that apparently there isn’t much the teachers can do about it either. Their involvement will only make matters worse.  My son is now on a waiting list to attend another school because we are out of options.  I will not make him walk into eight hour long battles day in and day out any more. I just can’t.

I am writing this letter in hopes that something, anything, will be done in the schools next year to stop this from happening to other kids.  Something has to be done.  I know my son isn’t the first to leave the district because of bullying and for the safety of our kids a big change needs to happen. I challenge the teachers and adults within our community to work together, take a stand, and stop this from happening to another child.  The schools need tougher consequences and stricter policies, perhaps even a zero tolerance policy would be nice. Current policies and procedures are not enough and they need to be reviewed.

I would like to close this letter by addressing Dr. Goodin specifically.  Dr. Goodin, I challenge you personally to make the schools a safer place in regard to bullying so that less students face the challenges my son has.  Can it be done?

Sincerely,

Samantha Clemmer

Editor's Note: According to the Spring-Ford Area School District, staff will look into this issue, as they learned of it recently.