Springfield Parent Asks Superintendent To Admit Mistake In Bullying Case: Letter

Dear Mr. Davino,

I’ve been following the news story of the young child who has been experiencing bullying in your district. First let me say that I do not know this family. I am reaching out as a concerned, tax-paying citizen and a parent.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why a man of your wisdom and experience would not have chosen to relocate this child to another class. Surely, it would have required the least amount of effort from a managerial perspective to have done so at the parent's initial request. It also would have made the child and her family feel their concerns were heard and shown the district acted in good faith to secure the safety of this child while at school.

Instead, by choosing to continue to defend your inaction and your attempt to discredit the mother has created a hostile “school-place."

I have heard from multiple teachers that 3rd grade is notorious for the beginning of bullying behaviors in children. I will not attempt to suggest a consequence for the children accused of bullying, other than to say that this is an opportunity to reach out to the accused children to help guide them in appropriate school/peer interactions.

It seems as if you are at odds with the mother and child as to whether the behaviors were really equivalent to bullying. I would say that unless you had personally shadowed this child to observe what occurred, you aren't going to be able to say with 100 percent accuracy what happened. But really, that is not possible as the actions took place in secrecy and shame as do most other forms of abuse.

The child has been physically and psychologically traumatized by this environment so the answer is quite easy, change her environment. Isn't it better to err on the side of caution considering how bullying cases have repeatedly led to childhood death / suicide, even in young children?

As a taxpayer, should I have to remind you of the litigious society in which we live? Erring on the side of caution would protect yourself and the district / taxpayers from liability.

Lastly, you are doing yourself, your office and the citizens of the district a disservice by trying to refute this family's claims. By going into defense mode and cover your "back" strategies, you have made yourself appear insensitive, inept and cowardly.

So dear Sir, I implore you to please do this child a favor and spare her the torment of another day in this hostile environment and own up to your failure to do so sooner. By doing this, you will be doing yourself and your district a favor as well. You may even put yourself in a position to earn back the trust of those whose trust you have lost.

There is honor in admitting one's mistakes and taking action to correct them. And by doing this you will be modeling appropriate behavior for your students, which would teach a valuable lesson to any bullies in your district.

Kind regards,

Ashley Long