WAREHAM, Mass. — A local mother said school officials are failing to protect her 7-year-old daughter from physical assaults.
“Kicked, punched, spit, she's had another girl spit in her face,” said Kelissa Gwendolyn, the mother.
“My daughter is not safe in that school, I don't think any kid is safe in that school,” said Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn is at a loss for what more she can do for her child, Katrina. She turned to social media for support in a Facebook post, now shared several hundred times, about her daughter's bullying at a Wareham elementary school.
She told Boston 25 News that the bullying first started last year, when her daughter was in kindergarten. She met with district officials here to come up with a safety plan, a plan she now feels was ignored.
The worst attack was by a fellow classmate Wednesday morning on the school bus. Gwendolyn said the bus pulled up to the school and then a male classmate punched Katrina. She said the abuse continued later on the playground
“My daughter got jumped by five boys at recess,” she said.
Gwendolyn said the school nurse called her, and then she rushed to take Katrina to the doctor. Medical records show Katrina had a "headache, nausea, and was vomiting;” she was diagnosed with a concussion.
Gwendolyn says the students responsible were never disciplined.
“The vice principal said, ‘the boy said sorry.’ That was his discipline, was sorry,” she told Boston 25 News.
She turned to Facebook to share her story with other parents, hoping that will convince administrators to listen.
“There needs to be a bullying plan of action,” she said.
In a statement, the superintendent told Boston 25 News, “We take all concerns expressed very seriously and we do investigate reported bullying incidences.”
The superintendent would not answer questions about this specific case - or if the students responsible are being held accountable.
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