MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An 11-year-old little boy’s parents say school bullying sent their son to the hospital.
The White Station Middle School student had a concision, and doctors told his parents he’d most likely been assaulted.
WREG spoke with the family on Tuesday after they went to both the school and police for help.
We were originally made aware of the situation after we received an email from 11-year-old Anthony’s mother, but when the family showed up, Anthony told us he wanted to do much of the talking to prove to himself and his classmates you don’t have to be scared of bullies.
“People that bully just make me mad.”
Sixth grader Anthony Pierce told us he’s tired of being bullied at school.
He said one student, who’s two years older than him, but in the same grade, has been messing with him for a while, but it wasn’t until Friday that the situation turned dangerous.
“I got knocked unconscious in the classroom.”
“I picked him up, and he came to my car in tears,” said Kathy Williams, Anthony’s mother. “He told me at first that he got in trouble, because he had his head down at his desk.”
Williams said the teacher thought her son was asleep, but when she saw these bruises, she took him to the ER.
A doctor told them he had suffered blunt force trauma, most likely from being assaulted and had a concussion.
Anthony said the teacher was in the classroom when this happened, but may not have seen it.
“He said he heard her calling his name and that’s when he was coming to. She made him go stand in the back of the classroom for 15 minutes,” said Williams.
The 11-year-old said one student’s been bothering him ever since the teacher decided to start selling candy in class to raise money for a school team.
“Every day he’s been asking me for money since she started it,” Anthony said.
If he doesn’t pay up, he gets picked on.
He told us the same student broke his glasses a couple weeks ago.
Williams said they called police, but were told the school and school resource officer needed to handle it.
They went to the school Tuesday and said the officer took a memo, but they aren’t happy with how the school’s handling it.
“All the principal wanted to do was argue and say that we hadn’t told every single time that something happened, so it hadn’t been documented.”
Williams said the principal told her Anthony’s classmates told them nothing happened, but Anthony thinks they might just be scared.
And by speaking out, he wants to send a message that bullying is never okay.
“I don’t like when people treat other people with disrespect.”
We reached out to White Station Middle School and Shelby County Schools for a response.
They sent us the following statement:
Bullying is a serious concern, and we treat all reports of bullying with extreme care. An allegation of bullying that was brought to the attention of school staff today is under investigation. If ever there is evidence to support a claim of bullying, responsible students will be strictly disciplined in accordance with Board policy.
If your child is experiencing bullying in the classroom, there are ways you can help.
You can call the Bullying First Response hotline at 1-800-320-8780.
There is also an option for parents to fill out a report form and then send it in to the school.
For even more resources click here.
