This Monday a group of 15 protestors gathered outside Broadview-Thompson Elementary school to protest what they saw as inaction on the part of the school, after a little girl was threatened at the school earlier this month. School officials say they are baffled at the outrage, and handled the incident with the same protocols they use for all such serious matters.
On April 6th, a 7 year old student was threatened by another parent, who said she had a knife and would cut the child's tongue out. The child was frightened and reported the incident to the principal, who started an investigation into the incident, informed the child's mother and banned the other parent after confirming she did indeed threaten the child, though she says it was meant as a joke.
The demonstrators today, led by Shannon Sovern, a friend of the mother, feel the school tried to silence the child, and only banned the offending parent after the mother had already contacted media outlets to express her concern. School Official Stacy Howard rejects that narrative, saying the day of the incident the principal followed all protocols, including informing the mother, launching an investigation and offering the child counseling services. "We followed the same protocol that we do for any of these incidents." Howard says those investigations are not instantaneous, but the Principal took the matter very seriously from the get go.
"It's a terrible situation for any little girl." Howard said. But she's frustrated that the demonstrators, who are calling for an open dialogue with the principal, never asked for a meeting.
An incident at Broadview-Thompson Elementary has sparked outrage among the community, prompting a demonstration at the school Monday morning. The incident in question happened when a 7-year old student of color was threatened by a white parent brandishing a knife, who threatened to cut the child's tongue out. The child informed the school principal, who gave the mother a warning and told the child not to tell anyone.
The child's mother says her daughter no longer feels safe at the school, and refused to return there for the rest of the week. After the mother started contacting media outlets the school banned the offending parent from school grounds for the rest of the year. The mother and other community members then decided to organize Monday's protest, saying the school handled the situation poorly and need "to admit they made a mistake.”
