Over the last week, 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)
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.
EMAIL FROM GRADUATE OF NORTH TONAWANDA HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 2024
I have gone to North Tonawanda schools my entire life and graduated from NTHS in 2024. Students started bullying me in 6th grade and it persisted through graduation. There was one girl in particular who I felt made it her life mission to make my life a living hell. She succeeded.
This girl body shamed and picked on me for how I looked. There were a couple times she punched or slapped me by teachers and no one would do anything. They thought she was “nice” and "not that kind of girl."
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL RACHEL ROSS
In High School the bullying continued, and that’s when I met Assistant Principal Rachel Ross. I reported everything this girl was doing to Assistant Principal Ross. Not only was nothing done, but she told me the entire situation was my fault. That I was instigating it.
One time I told Assistant Principal Ross that the girl was kicking the back of my desk. She then had her friends kick me in class while they all talked about me. Assistant Principal Ross didn’t care and said that it was my fault because I “kept dragging it on by texting her to stop and making it a big deal when it [wasn’t].”
Yes, I was told it was my fault because I told a girl to stop bullying me.
On at least twelve different occasions I went to Assistant Principal Ross for help. The only action she ever took on any of those complaints was having a meeting with the bully and myself. I don’t know what she thought was going to happen by having the meeting, but it only made things worse.
Assistant Principal Ross called my dad about ten times saying that I “instigated” these problems.
“She doesn’t know how to stop,” I can remember Assistant Principal Ross saying.
I was given in school suspension five times, and one Saturday detention, just for reporting the bullying to Assistant Principal Ross. She thought that the bullying was not important and a "waste of [her] time."
This girl also happened to be in my Boces program and the bullying continued there. I went to Principal Mann and explained to him what was going on with being bullied and what she did on a recent occasion at Boces. All I wanted was someone to protect me from what was happening. He listened to what I said, and then called Assistant Principal Ross.
When I returned to the High School, Assistant Principal Ross scolded me. She suspended me for trying to find someone else to help me when she would not. I have transcribed the conversation here and provided the entire audio recording:
Ross: Okay, why did you go to Mr. Mann? Why did you involve him in any of this? We are handling this in the building.
Student: Because I wanted to talk to him.
Ross: No, no, no. He doesn’t know what’s going on. So why did you go to Mr. Mann? Because you didn’t like my answer yesterday so you went to go seek somebody else? That’s not how this works, okay? So now it’s muddy because you’ve got too many people involved. I told you to let it go. You signed a No Contact Agreement and I need you to let it go.
Student: I didn’t sign any contract.
Ross: I told you yesterday, cease and desist. It’s the same thing. No contact with Landon or anybody. Let it go. And if not, you’re insubordinate. Didn’t we have this conversation yesterday?
Student: Yes.
Ross: So what did you do? You went and did exactly the opposite and now you get to sit in ISS the second half of the day. (NOW YELLING) Come on, let it go! You’re a senior and this is middle school garbage.
Student: But I didn’t do anything.
Ross: (STILL YELLING) I don’t care! I have proof that you did. And that’s it. And I asked you to stop. I didn’t give you a consequence yesterday, all I did was ask you to stop. You did not. Now you get a consequence. You can say you didn’t do anything. I was protecting you by doing this as a no contact agreement so that if they said something, or vice versa, that you were protected too. A no contact agreement goes both ways. A cease and desist goes both ways. You did not do that, so you are at fault. Did I give you a consequence yesterday?
Student: No.
Ross: So why keep going? Because you can’t let it go. So you get to go sit in ISS because you can’t let it go. Because you wouldn’t let it go. Because I told you to stop yesterday, and you’re insubordinate now. Yes? Okay. And now you’re making more work [for me] because I have to call Mr. Mann and tell him we are handling it at the building level. Like it’s so annoying [student’s name]!
What was it that Assistant Principal Ross wanted me to stop talking about? The bullying that this girl was subjecting me to. The “No Contact Agreement” was not meant to protect me, but to stop me from telling the bully to stop or defending myself in any way, shape or form.
The "contract" that she referred to was one they forced students to sign without a parental guardian that they purport to be binding. If you violate the "contract," you are punished.
The fact is that Assistant Principal Ross liked my bully more than she did me, and as a result she turned into the victim instead of me. Assistant Principal Ross protected the girl who bullied me.
I am sure a lot of people will read this and ask why I kept going to Assistant Principal Ross, and the answer is because she was the one who handled these issues. If I ever tried to go somewhere else (i.e.: Mr. Mann), it would always go back to her.
THOUGHTS OF SELF-HARM
When I was being bullied, I felt like no one cared and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to go. I had suicidal thoughts throughout high school. I made plans and knew exactly how I would do it. I planned on going through with it multiple times. I just wanted the pain to stop.
I felt so badly about myself that it was hard to look in the mirror. After being body shamed over and over again for years, my self-esteem was destroyed. I began to believe that I was as useless as the kids in school said that I was.
I have always thought that North Tonawanda does not care about their students. Seeing all of these other people post similar stories at least lets me know it wasn't just me. I'm not alone in what I went through.
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.
Former Assistant Principal Rachel Ross Protects Bullies: North Tonawanda Schools Part 2