Girl Has Since Transferred Schools
From:WBAL-TV Baltimore,MD
BALTIMORE --
Baltimore city school officials are investigating a suspected cause of bullying after a girl threatened to commit suicide.
Mother Geneva Biggus said her 8-year-old daughter tried to jump out of a window at Gilmor Elementary School on April 20 following taunts and beatings from classmates.
Biggus said her daughter, Shaniya Boyd, who has cerebral palsy, told her that she wanted to get away after she was teased, knocked off her crutches and kicked in the head.
"Three people were fighting me -- two girls and one boy. That boy kicked me in my forehead for no reason, and then the other two was just hitting on me," Boyd told 11 News about her last day at the school.
Biggus said she got a call from the school that day and immediately met with school officials and the accused students' parents.
"I was upset about everything that happened. She was OK, but I immediately took her out of that school because it was the last straw," Biggus told 11 News.
She said the abuse had been going on for some time and that the school did little to stop it.
"They tried to separate them and put them in different classes, but it still happened in the hallway or cafeteria or outside when they had play time -- stuff like that. They still managed to get their hands on my child," Biggus said.
The three students have been suspended since the incident, school officials said.
Geneva Biggus says her daughter is happy at her new school.
"We are very confident that the student didn't actually attempt to harm herself, but because of the incident, there needed to be some consequences given to particular students," said Baltimore city schools spokesman Jonathan Brice. "This is a young person who has already overcome so much and is working hard to be a productive member of the school community, and other students are picking on her."
The school district said bullying is unacceptable in any of its schools and that it's trying to get students, parents and teachers more involved to stop it from happening.
"We believe that we can really work with our young people to create safe and supportive environments where bullying will not be tolerated," Brice said.
Reports of bulling are on the rise in the city, according to statistics. So far this year, 105 bullying cases have been reported as compared to 79 all of last year. Brice said increased awareness has made a difference.
"We believe that's attributable to the professional development we've provided to administration and teachers this summer, as well as an emphasis on making sure we're addressing this as soon as possible," he said.
Biggus said her daughter is doing much better at her new school and enjoys it there so far.
