My story...The Story of my son who was horrendously bullied and for speaking up I was bullied as well...

My name is Maria Velasquez, I am an educator I always wanted to teach since I was 5 years old, I gave up on that several times in my life, but I ended up pursuing it and in 2021 I achieved it... Only to have my dream shattered in the midst of a few months... This is my life.. . the whole description of this is through my perspective and I'm speaking as a parent a very traumatized parent....

I started teaching in person the beginning of 2022, big changes I purchased a home, and my children went up a grade. I also started teaching my dream job where till this day I love every student I have taught...

During 2022 my 10 yr. old son started missing school he started with he is sick and doesn't feel good. He started popping up with reasons, and many times he was sick, so I let him stay home with grandma. I'm a single mother to two beautiful children and grandma and grandpa are the main ones who help me. My son started missing school and one week in particular he was very secretive. That Friday his bully got in another fight with him and ripped his glasses off his face. When I asked, he said he had gotten in to ANOTHER fight with his bulls. It was at least his 2nd fight. The bully broke his glasses and I had to pay; I never was reimbursed. I was told that the bully was talked to but because of confidentiality they couldn't tell me much. The principal never met with me, my son was not important enough at this time. 

The bully repeatedly attacked and my son being an introvert down played it for a while. I sat down with him one day and decided to talk to him there i discovered that the bullying was also territorial and that my son even had to do RESTITUTION. 

I did many emails, attempts, my mother visiting the school me meeting with the vice principal but it did not stop all of this. The principal never wanted to meet with me in person for some reason which was very strange to me. The bully was never expelled, the same bully attacked several students they are only 10 years old! he attacked little girls...This was allowed to happen at Rowell Elementary in Fresno California. Anywhere else outside of school these attacks would be called assault and battery and would never be tolerated but because its at an elementary school it was. My son was never asked about his mental health by the principal nothing. Instead one day he wrote a note where he expressed how much he hated his life, that day my heart broke and shattered into a million pieces. This was in December around xmas, so I decided to put him into counseling at the school and pleaded that my son would not do anymore RESTITUTION as he had not done the wrong doing. 

Fastforward to the most vicious thing Ive ever witnessed happen to my son. 

It was February 10th right before Valentines Day 2023. I got the most frantic phone call at my job; the bully and my son had fought again. They called them fights, but they truly weren't because my son always resulted injured, and the other student resulted going back to school like nothing happened. This day the nurse called me at my job telling me that "You better come get your child," something of that nature. I have major trauma because of this I still remember that nurse her voice in my head and the horrible feeling in my body.

I had my mother and her friend helped me. They panicked as well and were mortified, my poor mother had to see that but comforted my king.   I called 911 and they called the ambulance. My son was bit by this child and thrown onto the concrete resulting in the largest bump Ive ever seen on a childs head. I was mortified. I will never forget that. The police made a report and attempted to contact the school. His bully never got suspended for biting my son and cracking his head as they deemed it fight once again. A fight by the repeated child who hurst several students a year. This child hit little girls as well as he pleased with no consequence. 

I sent emails and complaints to meet with principal but none of this changed the demeanor, the treatment of my son. The bully was entitled and allowed to stay in his class. The bully continued to hurt students with out a consequence as the staff would ignore it and shrug it off. 

On April 20th 2023 there was an open house I attended, there I saw they bullies mother and I asked her if I could speak to her. We were talking and I communicated that the violence her son had done was not ok, that it was severe and that it could result in my son being hurt. I can't remember word per word because I stayed shocked at the treatment I received later on that evening. The bullies mother then became very irate, she yelled obscenities and even put her fingers in my face. She lied and said I had threatened her child and I did correct her and told her those were lies, after this I walked away. Principal McClintock at Rowell Elementary was called by the teacher, the one that never had heart for the matter , the one that allowed the bully to participate in classroom parties even after hurting other students several times. 

 She called the principal, the principal looked at me and immediately called the school security on me. Just by looking at me. I was walked outside, as I gathered my children, and I waited for the principal to speak to me, she never did. She only assisted spoke to the bullies parent. (An unbiased witness saw the whole incident and spoke up already.) Not only did she do that, she called my HR, whom contacted me the next day communicating a civility policy, basically telling me that I was not allowed at my sons school only to pick up and drop off. They sent me the civility policy papers aswell. Unknowingly to me, Mrs. McClintock also called the Fresno Police Department alongside the bullies parent. They came up with many lies about me but the police were unable to do anything about it because to them it seemed like a civil matter an argument. I found out about this as they later called me next week. They also allowed me to put my side of the story a report. 

The following week after the open house event, Mcclintock calls me and emails me both private email and work, she also reaches out to my childrens father. She also visits my classroom on Wednesday under the premise that shes observing. She knew where I worked the previous week to have HR call me, so she knew what she was doing. I was mortified and I responded her emails and told her to leave us alone. In the span of a day to few days, this lady called the HR on me, Security, and the police. 

Little to my knowledge back then that is not all....

 

Around May 9th I was served with a civil restraining order, by the sheriff. It was full of lies, things I would never do. It was on behalf of the bullies parent. There were some private things that only the principal had to release to the bullies' parent, and on the restraining order it quoted the principal called police. The police in their private conversation with me on the phone, also reference the principal McClintock. Can you imagine the plight the damage this individual caused on me? I was beyond devastated. Along with this the HR send me letters, one of them with the code of conduct because they did not like a video I had made in my classroom (which was recorded in my plight, while I worked for free on a Saturday, which did not affect my employment at all.) And the most brutal disheartening letter ever; the one that said that there was a restraining order against me and that I was not allowed on the school and if police were to be notified, they would notify them. 

 

I went through a lot. Evidence I have emails, letters witnesses. The police that did not arrest me, but I was still treated like a felon ... why because I spoke up for my child ...I've faced the largest form of retaliation during these months. The union, well they had an attorney who told me to just hang in there as I received letter and restraining order. So I had to part ways with the attorney. Fresno teachers' association still hasn't returned my voice mails, I called several times, emailed, Facebooked I did it all. 

I had to take therapy to get me to understand that I can share my pain, that I have every right to defend my child. 

 

On June 26th I went to court with the Bullies parent... The judge listened to her, he commented that there was hearsay and that her comments made no sense. Her fake restraining order was denied. After court I had to stay behind with the lawyer because the bullies' parent was very irrational, I understand why her child is violent as she maliciously attempted to incriminate me for something I never did. She also stalked my tiktoks which I screen shotted. 

 

I run every chance to be fired because I've been sent several HR policies and letters, but I had to defend protect my son, because I will NEVER get another son. I did not want him to remember that he got hurt and that I stayed quiet. 

I would like this petition to bring light to how parents get treated when there child has been hurt, my son had a huge lump red gash on his head, 80kviews on his TikTok but none of that has even mattered to the district, to the heartless HR whom sent me policies who wanted me to be guilty of something that I never did , that even a court judge found me guilty of nothing, but my reputation still was affected.

 I would like the district to apologize to my child to ensure his safety. I would like Alice McClintock to be held accountable, to not treat another parent the way she treated me; she treated me with a very prejudice and racism as police were called on me with me even breaking any laws. I would like this individual to be investigated, for the community to see how many times a child has suffered bullying under her watch and how many children have been transferred out of Rowell because of safety concerns. ( I know there are several as mothers have reached out on other platforms and told me they were treated worse by her, even mothers from 10 years ago still remember the bullying allowed by this principal.) I would like the people of Fresno to understand that as parents we need this to stop. The allowed bullying needs to stop, assault at schools should be illegal because you can't do it out in public then why in public schools. 

My ancestry has roots in Mexico, but go further to telling a transatlantic story, where someone was taken from a West African country by the Portuguese and brought here.  I survived so many things to have someone allow violence on my child and then attempt to destroy my life within a few days. 

I pray that Bob Nelson the superintendent sees this and understand that IT IS NOT OK ... the violence on my child is not ok, me having to call the paramedics because I was sent home a hurt child not ok. 

I was bullied at my job while trying to protect the most precious sweet little boy that I have. I don't want to lose my career, but this is not ok.  In case that they do get rid of me, at the end of the day they hurt a single mother of color, a mother who is a slim tiny statistic of success in the educational world, who was only trying to protect her child, they did it to protect people who hurt people on so many levels. 

Here are some of the links of the trauma Ive endured....

Viewer discretion is advised....

An Emotional sitdown with son viewer discretion

Some of his injuries that were captured on video

the trauma I've endured am living

The day I went to the FUSD school board meeting