WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — A Washington Court House mother said that she has removed her young daughter from public school after allegations of anti-Semitism bullying.
Mother Leah Marcus took to social media this week to express her frustration after she said Washington Court House City School administrators failed to adequately address the harassment of her 7th-grade daughter, which reportedly included “Nazi salutes” and name-calling, such as “Hitler” because the 13-year-old is Jewish.
“At lunch, there was a group of boys who were giving her a Nazi salute and trying to get her to do it as well. Because it would be ‘so funny’ to get the Jewish girl to do it,” Marcus said. “My daughter ended up crying in the bathroom, refusing to come out, and begging me to come get her. I asked someone at the school to get her out of the bathroom. They did and took her to the counselor’s office. The counselor reviewed the video and tried to convince my daughter that maybe they were just trying to signal for a staff member. She sent my daughter back to class and called to update me. [The counselor] told me that the boys were just raising their arms up at my daughter and maybe my daughter was upset about losing our dog.”
Marcus said that the following day, the harassment continued.
“There was a teacher in the room, but apparently this made no difference….they decided to keep my daughter in a room by herself for the rest of the day while they decided how to handle the situation. That day, my daughter was told that several other kids were saying they were going to do it to her, like it was some kind of challenge now.”
The mother said that after her daughter was isolated in the room, administrators forgot the teen was there and left her sitting in the room for five hours without any classwork, before another adult came by and started preaching to the young girl about how “some students just need Jesus.”
Marcus said that one of the students responsible for the bullying was given lunch detention, and that when her daughter returned to the hallways to resume her studies, additional students started harassing her by chanting, “Free ——–” (the student who was in detention).
After Marcus said her concerns fell on deaf ears at the middle school level, she went to talk to Dr. Tom Bailey, the district’s superintendent.
“He was completely bored and disinterested in anything that I had to say,” Marcus said about the superintendent.
School spokesman Trevor Patton refutes Marcus’ claims and said the school has properly addressed the situation since it became aware of the taunting.
“From the onset, Washington Middle School (WMS) took this situation very seriously,” Patton told the Guardian on Monday. “Within the same afternoon of the initial report on Wednesday, the student’s mother had been notified of the incident, as well as all of the students involved had been identified and questioned by the WMS admin team. The next morning, all of the students at fault had been removed from the classroom for multiple days, as well as received additional education on the severity of their actions.”
Patton went on to say that the staff gave the girl a choice on what to do.
“Throughout the entire process, the WMS admin team offered the student the option to return to class as normal, continue their studies from the counselor’s office, or to go home for the day, fully supporting whatever they wanted to do so that they were most comfortable. The student asked to work from the counselor’s office. Upon their request, the student did attend a few classes in person, but opted to work from the counselor’s office for the majority of periods.”
During the mother’s meeting with the superintendent, Patton said the top administrator listened to the mother’s concern, took notes, and asked clarifying questions to gain a better understanding of the situation.
“To conclude the meeting, Dr. Bailey told the mother that he would drive to WMS to discuss the matter with the building administration, and she should expect a phone call from the principal’s office by the end of the day. Soon after the meeting concluded, Dr. Bailey went to WMS, discussed the situation with the principals, and Mr. Streitenberger [assistant principal] called the mother prior to leaving the school.”
When asked if the district felt the victim was being further victimized by having to be the one removed from the district, Patton said that was not the case.
“In no way does the district feel like the student has been punished by WMS throughout this process. At all times, the school offered the student the opportunity to go where they and their family were most comfortable while the investigation took place, whether that was back to class, remain working in the office, or to go home. Additionally, all of the students at fault have been removed from the classroom for multiple days. Ultimately, the family opted to enroll the student in virtual learning. While the district supports the family’s decision, it is our hope that the student returns to school as soon as possible. We will continue to do everything that we can to provide a safe and conducive learning environment for all of our students at WCHCS.”
Marcus said she made the difficult decision to pull her daughter out of the school and told administrators that they would not be returning because her daughter did not feel safe. The teen will participate in virtual learning to complete her studies.
