Rochester Concerned Taxpayers

To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the article published September 11, 2009 entitled “Grandmother furious 5-year-old assaulted by fellow Rochester Student”. There seems to be some misconception about the article and what transpired. Obviously, there needs to be some clarification.

My 5-year-old grandson was attacked by another 5-year-old student on the third day of school, Friday September 4, 2009.

It was reported to the family by the school nurse, approximately two hours after the attack.

Apparently the child in question had been removed from the classroom earlier that day due to his inappropriate behavior and school officials were attempting to bring him back into the classroom when he attacked my grandson. My grandson was sitting in circle time paying attention to his teacher. The child in question grabbed my grandson around the neck and slammed his head on the floor. This was an unprovoked attack and had nothing to do with going out to recess as recess was over or any other fabricated story that has since come out. The only two stories that match are that of the nurse and my grandson.

My grandson was taken to the nurse’s office where ice packs were applied to his neck (he developed finger bruises on his upper neck and lower jaw) and the scratches on his throat were cleaned up and there was a cut under his left eye. When I dropped him off at school that day he did not have any cuts on his face. By bedtime the marks on his ribs had finally faded. We do have pictures taken by the family to substantiate our claim.

The family has yet to be notified by the principal Mrs. Theresa Morin-Bailey regarding the specifics of the incident as outlined in School Department Policy JGD-R3. The family did; however, receive in writing, from Mr. Hopkins that the child was attempting to take my grandson out to recess. This is the story they came up with approximately three weeks after the assault, and the excuse that the nurse did not call sooner because she must have gotten busy. Personally, after seeing everyone in action, in my opinion they needed that time for damage control. They are so used to brushing these things under the carpet. I will not go away!

The child in question assaulted another student in the same classroom the following Friday, September 11. Mind you this was after the statement made by Mr. Hopkins in the Foster’s article dated September 11, 2009 that steps were being taken to ensure this would never happen again, yet it did. The family was informed that he would not be in my grandson’s class come Monday the 14th. This is not the second attack from this child; it is my understanding that it is more like his sixth or seventh.

School Department policy JGD-R63 – Simple Assault Notification Policy states “Whenever an incident of simple assault or violence, occurs no report shall be made to the local law enforcement agency. Instead, the building principal shall notify the parents by telephone and confirm by a letter to the parents of all children directly involved. The letter from the building principal shall describe the incident and the seriousness and harm done or potential harm and the school district’s response to the incident.” This has never happened and it makes me wonder how many other incidents have been ignored.

There is also JGD-R1 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Reporting of Acts of Theft, Destruction or Violence. The full reading of all school policies can be found on the School Department web site under School Board.

RSA 193-F:2 Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention. The General Court for the state of New Hampshire hereby finds that pupils have the right to attend schools that are safe, secure, and peaceful. One of the legislature’s highest priorities must be to protect our children from VIOLENCE by dealing with harassment, including “bullying”, in our public schools. House Bill No. 360 requires that each school district adopt, implement, and enforce its own pupil safety and violence prevention policy and provides that the state board of education shall issue a technical assistance advisory to school districts offering guidance on how to proceed.

In the case of my grandson none of the above policies have been followed and it makes me wonder just how many other policies are also similarly dismissed. How many other violent children are in the schools? Why is the School Department more concerned with the needs of the violent child than they are about the needs and safety of all the other children in the school? The needs of one cannot and should not supersede the safety of others.

I was informed Monday, September 28, by a number of individuals that members of the violent child’s family were at the East Rochester Elementary School yesterday meeting with the principal. I hope the only thing that was discussed was the fact he needs alternative educational options. It is not the taxpayer’s responsibility to pay to have a baby-sitter for this child because he lacks discipline. After speaking with a lawyer, letting this child back into school knowing that he has assaulted/injured others has put the City (ultimately the taxpayer because YES we will foot the bill for everything) in a position for serious litigation.

Personally, I am tired of the lies, stories and cover-ups all because “the child is coded”. This is a very serious problem and it is going on in our children’s schools on a daily basis. The School Department is worried about one parent suing. They should be worried about every other parent bringing a class action suit against the School Department for violating every child’s right to attend schools that are safe, secure and peaceful. Every parent who called regarding the earlier article should call their School Board member, school principal, their child’s teacher, and visit the classrooms and see what is going on. Every parent needs to be aware of what is happening to their child and the environment they are in. I have the utmost respect for all the teachers that my grandchildren have had to date and feel that they are working under adverse conditions that need to be corrected. They are there to teach not spend their time being a referee and filling out accident reports. We need to stand behind our teachers and not the administration. Those employed by the School Department work for us, the taxpayer, and so far I am totally dissatisfied with the performance of some of the administrators. If anybody has any additional questions, feel free to look me up.

Sue O’Connor