FREDERICK, MD- School officials say Monday's assault on tenth-grader Preston Deener was, in their words, outrageous.
"No one wants to see a student or a child hurt or assaulted or verbally assaulted, on or off school grounds," says Michael Doerrer, director of communications for Frederick County Public Schools. "It's completely unacceptable."
The Frederick County Sheriff's office is handling the investigation and they say charges may be filed. School officials are reminding students and parents to report all cases of bullying. It helps them track and identify patterns.
"We're not going to wait for a form to respond to bullying," explains Doerrer. "That's a step in our process that we use to help us understand the problem, the nature of the problem, the scope of the problem."
Counselor Janet Shipman says the district offers many services for victims of bullying, and for the bullies themselves, hoping to teach them accountability for their actions.
"Our goal is to change the behavior, and to educate kids and get them to do the right thing," says
Shipman, coordinator of school counseling and student support for Frederick County Public Schools.
School officials say in this specific case they have been criticized for not taking action more quickly. They say that's not the case at all. They acted immediately.
"The idea that anyone involved in education, any teacher, any principal, anyone who works for a school system, could be apathetic about bullying, nothing could be further from the truth," says Doerrer.
"No one wants to see a student or a child hurt or assaulted or verbally assaulted, on or off school grounds," says Michael Doerrer, director of communications for Frederick County Public Schools. "It's completely unacceptable."
The Frederick County Sheriff's office is handling the investigation and they say charges may be filed. School officials are reminding students and parents to report all cases of bullying. It helps them track and identify patterns.
"We're not going to wait for a form to respond to bullying," explains Doerrer. "That's a step in our process that we use to help us understand the problem, the nature of the problem, the scope of the problem."
Counselor Janet Shipman says the district offers many services for victims of bullying, and for the bullies themselves, hoping to teach them accountability for their actions.
"Our goal is to change the behavior, and to educate kids and get them to do the right thing," says
Shipman, coordinator of school counseling and student support for Frederick County Public Schools.
School officials say in this specific case they have been criticized for not taking action more quickly. They say that's not the case at all. They acted immediately.
"The idea that anyone involved in education, any teacher, any principal, anyone who works for a school system, could be apathetic about bullying, nothing could be further from the truth," says Doerrer.
Comments
I'm sure Fredrick County Schools want to keep their jobs by a good cover statement but I'm sure they had to be aware , if not witness to these attacks and should be held responsible for a students care and well being , while in their classes .
Bruce E.
October 11, 2012 at 5:01 pm
