A parent of a Britton Middle School student claims her child, as well as two of his friends, are victims of persistent bullying by a group of classmates who have been targeting them since last school year.
Parent Mary Brandon said her son began being followed before and after school last year, and now must be dropped off and picked up at the front office each day. He also eats his lunch in the library instead of with friends and the rest of the school outside because he’s afraid of being attacked. She claims the bullies are members of a local gang.
“I’m very concerned about it,” said Brandon, who helped to spread the word of a parent rally outside of Britton last night to bring the issue to light with other families that may be enduring the same. “To any concerned parents in the community of Morgan Hill, there are gang members that are in our schools. We feel like our children are not safe.”
Brandon said she met with Britton administrators on several occasions dating back to last school term, but the bullying has not ceased and the site leaders have not taken sufficient corrective action.
Fed up with what they were hearing from school officials, about a dozen parents met outside Britton, located at 80 W. Central Ave., and discussed what they should do next to put an end to the bullying issue at their children’s school.
“The ones being threatened and bullied and pushed and shoved and intimidated, they are the ones sitting inside the office and library and not being able to be out with the general public (during brunch and lunch) because of the gang members out there,” Brandon said. “I don’t like that the victims are the ones being penalized.”
Britton Principal Chris Moore released a statement on the issue Aug. 31.
“We are aware of the situation and have quickly taken disciplinary action against any student involved when incidents of bullying are reported to us,” Moore said. “We can’t talk about individual students, but we are working closely with community agencies regarding bullying and are working intensely with those students who are involved.”
MHUSD policy in place for bullying
According to Morgan Hill Unified School District’s policy manual, the board “prohibits, at any district school or school activity, unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying of any student.” It goes on to say that “the principal or designee shall develop a plan to provide students with appropriate accommodations when necessary for their protection from threatened or potentially harassing or discriminatory behavior.”
Brandon said at least three Britton students have been on the receiving end of bullying from a group of students. One victim has an adult family friend follow him to each of his classes throughout the day to make sure he is not attacked during school, she said.
“These kids have done nothing wrong,” said Brandon, whose son did not want to tell her at first what was happening but she became suspicious when he consistently did not want to go to school. He then told her about the bullying problem.
“My son has been victimized. This is bullying to the 10th degree,” Brandon said. “This is the second year of it and we’re only two weeks into the new school year.”
According to the same board policy, students who engage in such behavior “shall be be subject to appropriate discipline, up to and including counseling, suspension, and/or expulsion.” In addition, “any employee who permits or engages in prohibited discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or retaliation shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.”
Early Thursday evening, about a dozen parents met up outside of Britton to talk about bullying at the school and possibly come up with some way to stop it from occurring any more at Britton.
“We’re just concerned parents that want to keep our children safe and in school,” Brandon said. “Everyone has taken different routes in trying to fix this. I’ve met with the principals and asked to meet with the school resource officer and superintendent. Another parent went to the (District Attorney’s Office). So (Thursday’s) meeting was to just collectively come together as a group, hear other people’s stories and organize something.”
The bullying issue at Britton was featured on NBC Bay Area newscast at 11 p.m. Thursday that included a short blurred video of what looked like three teens involved in a fistfight.
“We take all reports of bullying seriously and do not tolerate it,” Moore said.
According to the statement, Britton staff has put many measures in place to combat bullying, including increased staff supervision before school, during brunch and after school; implementation of programs such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports and One Yard afterschool sports; and partnerships with Discovery Counseling and Community Solutions.
“Britton is an amazing school, I’m proud of our student body and how they, along with our staff and entire school community are willing to step up, report, and take a stand against bullying on campus,” Moore said.
