Recently, Niagara Action began publishing a series of stories illustrating a culture of bullying, assaults, and harassment at North Tonawanda City Schools.
Click Headlines to Read Prior Stories
North Tonawanda Schools Face Backlash Over Failure to Protect Students from Bullying
A Culture of Unreported Violence: North Tonawanda Schools Part 1 (videos of physical altercations included)
Former Assistant Principal Rachel Ross Protects Bullies: North Tonawanda Schools Part 2 (audio recording of Ross yelling at student included)
Student Beaten after Principal Rowles Fails to Act: North Tonawanda Schools Part 3 (video of physical altercation included)
Special Education Student Locked in Bathroom and Beaten: North Tonawanda Schools Part 4
After the articles circulated throughout the community, several parents, current and former students submitted their experiences via email to us. Their stories amounted to a simple conclusion: there is a refusal to protect students in North Tonawanda.
If you would like to share your own experience with North Tonawanda Schools and any of the issues raised throughout this article, please email us at niagaraaction@gmail.com.
MOTHER OF BULLY WANTED DAUGHTER SUSPENDED FOR TASING STUDENT
Unbeknownst to me, when my daughter started high school in North Tonawanda she became a bully along with a group of her friends. The group at one point lured a girl into a home and tased her.
I was baffled to learn that the school kicked out the child who was assaulted. I begged the school to punish my daughter for her actions, yet the school did nothing.
We had court as a result of her actions and the judge was going to hold me in contempt for taking away her cellphone. Then she kept leaving the house and the court said I had no right to lock her in her room to prevent her from leaving at night.
It was six years of hell trying to get my daughter under control, but all other entities such as the school, CPS and court refused to punish her. Each of them gave my daughter control and green light to keep doing whatever she wanted.
She continued to bully, and the school continued to not hold her accountable. I can only imagine the emotional pain she created as the number of victims she created grew over her time at the high school.
She bullied people's weight, sexual orientation, physical appearance, and more. Several students complained about her to administrators and nothing was ever done.
In her four years at the high school she had 86 infractions and the administration did nothing. Instead, they reinforced the behavior by showing her that there would be consequences for her actions.
There were parents who would contact me through social media or phone threatening to beat me up because of my daughter’s bullying. Many of them I ended up sitting down with to try and explain what was happening behind the scenes. Sometiems it helped, other times it did not.
During her senior year, my daughter missed 89 days of school and never did assignments. The school could have cared less! They faked her grades and community service to get her graduated and out of the school.
Fast forward to now, my daughter is a productive, well-mannered mom. She is thriving and even about to buy a home. She recognized her behavior was abhorrent and admits that the use of cell phones in school and the lack of consequences made her, and her friends, not care what they did.
If you would like to share your own experience with North Tonawanda Schools and any of the issues raised throughout this article, please email us at niagaraaction@gmail.com.
Assault Victim Punished Instead of Bully: North Tonawanda Schools Part 5