School system has anti-bullying policy

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Updated: November 23, 2011 8:01AM

Dr. Wallace: I read with interest the letter from the 13-year-old boy who was being bullied at a private school he attended. I wanted to tell you the story of my daughter who shared a similar experience. The friend of a girl who was mad at my daughter threatened to beat her up at school the following day. One of the numerous text messages that she sent my daughter said that she would not beat her up if she brought her money to school instead.

Our school system has a strict anti-bullying policy. I went online and read the policy, and one of the things it said was that if you are threatened with physical harm to call the police.

The police stated that I was to contact the principal about the bullying. They had an officer that would meet my daughter, her father and me at the school. We brought copies of all of the emails and text messages from this girl with us. She ended up getting arrested for intimidation and bribery.

As a parent, there was a part of me that felt sorry for a 13-year-old getting arrested. But my hope is that maybe she will learn a lesson and it will stop her from doing it to someone else. Please tell teens who are being bullied to tell their parents and encourage them to meet with the school counselor or principal.

Mother, Elkhart

Mother: Your daughter’s school system is handling the bullying problem properly. Congratulations to the school board and the administrators for implementing their strict anti-bullying policy. Every school district in the United States should have a similar bullying policy. Your daughter is fortunate to have wise, caring parents.

Write Dr. Wallace
at rwallace@galesburg.net