by A North Carolina middle schooler was left bloodied and bruised after a bully shoved his face into the pavement.
Skyler Stacy is an eighth-grader at Archduke Trinity Middle School in Randolph County, North Carolina. His mother, Jennifer Strickland-Stacy, says that she got a call from the school telling her that Skyler had fallen and hurt himself. However, when he got home, he had a much different story.
“I found out my son didn’t fall,” Strickland-Stacy told WGHP. “My son was shoved by the boy who had been bullying him. The boy shoved him face first into the pavement.”
According to the mother, Skyler had been getting harassed and attacked by the same bully for the last month. She says he’s been attacked by the bully five times.
“The first incident was when he poured water on my son,” Strickland-Stacy said. “The second incident, he took my son’s cell phone. The third incident, he spit in his face and shoved him. The fourth incident is when he repeatedly smacked my son in his face.”
The mother says that the bully was removed from the bus, but that it didn’t last long. She says that just “three days later, he was back on the bus.”
Strickland-Stacy says that she has reported every incident to the school and that every time, the school says “that they will handle it.”
The mother says that since the bullying began, her son hasn’t been himself.
“It’s awful to have to see his face like this because usually he’s so happy,” she said.
Photo Credit: WHGP
The school’s superintendent sent a statement to WGHP.
“I have been made aware of the parent’s concerns,” Superintendent Dr. Stephen Gainey said in a statement. “The school system currently is investigating this situation and will address it appropriately. However, I am not able to comment on any confidential information involving a student.”
Strickland-Stacy says she will drive Skyler to school from now on to keep him from having to ride the bus and that she is even considering homeschooling as an option.
After the story was shared on Facebook, many commented to voice their support for Strickland-Stacy and vent their frustrations about the ways schools handle bullying.
“Truth is, schools don’t know how to handle bullying. They really don’t take it serious enough,” one user wrote. “They need to sit down and figure out ways to reduce bullying because schools continue to do nothing about it. Then when the kid commits suicide, they want to feel sorry. It’s a shame.”
“My heart absolutely breaks for this child both as a mother and a teacher,” another reader commented. “When I taught in public schools I handled things myself in my classroom because administrators often times (in my opinion) don’t do enough. I’m so sorry you’re going through this and I pray he comes out stronger on the other side!”
