Olean City School District has failed our children/ students. Bullying and Harassment is at an all time high in this school. We have talked to several students and heard there stories.

 

 

PLEASE READ A FEW OF THE STOREIS:

 

STOREY 1:

To my fellow parents of children that attend Olean High School. I have hesitated on making this post for a month because I was really hoping that the police/ the school would do something. However, a month later essentially nothing has been done about my son BEING SEXUALLY HARASSED at school.
On March 23rd I picked up Devin from school at 4:00pm. When he got in the car he was visibly upset. I asked him what was wrong. He asked me if the school called me. I said "no, why?" Devin then proceeds to tell me that two of his friends came to him and showed him a picture that they received via Snapchat. The picture was of Devin with his pants unzipped peeing and a caption about him using his name. In the picture, he said, you could see the corner of his face, his genitals and his clothes. Apparently someone put their phone under the stall door and took a picture of him using the bathroom without Devin's knowledge. Devin does not have a cellphone. And he did not know that the picture was taken. He went to a member of the school administration and told them about the picture and who sent his friends the picture. This administrator then called down the two students that showed Devin the picture and told them to delete it off their phones. They did not call me or the police.
Of coarse after hearing this I was immediately enraged and upset for my son. It was after 4pm so I could not reach anyone at the school. I came home and talked to Dave Showers and we decided to contact the police and file a report. An Olean Police Officer came to the house and took our information, said he would file a report and that the juvenile officer or another investigator would contact me. The next day I did not send Devin to school. I waited until about 10AM to call the police department after not hearing from them. I was directed to Sargant Cashmere. He told me that because it was another minor that took the picture that it was NOT illegal. Which is wrong. He told me that he believed my son knew about the picture and probably had something to do with it. Which is victim blaming and wrong. He told me that there was nothing they could really do because the pictures had been deleted BY THE SCHOOL and that I should take up my concerns with the school. So, I called the administrator that Devin went to and I demanded to know why they would have students delete evidence of my sons harassment off their phones instead of turning it over to the police. I demanded to know why I was not called immediately. I asked what was happening to the student that was sending the snaps? This person did apologize to me and admitted that they probably did not handle the situation in the best way. And said that they needed to talk to the principal and decide how to proceed. The principle questioned some students and found a picture on a students phone. HOWEVER, it was A DIFFERENT picture taken a month prior to Devin photo. Which to me means that this has been going on and is clearly an issue. The school was never "able" to find Devin's picture. We have no idea if it's still out there, how many students it was sent to, or how it was taken in the first place. The school informed me that they turned over the investigation to the police and I have heard nothing since. The kid that was sending the picture on snapchat was NEVER disciplined. Instead the school suspended the 2 students that were nice enough to come tell Devin that it happened.
So, now that it's all out there. I do not know where to go from here. What do you do when the school and the police department refuse to investigate a crime and instead try to sweep it under the rug??? Devin is upset. He feels violated and like no one at the school cares. And I have no idea where to turn.

STORY 2:

My daughter attended Olean High School and was bullied on several occasions by different kids. The first time I had to go to the school to deal with the issues the school said they would take care of it. This said student also threatened to physically harm my daughter through social media. This was all reported to the school. They did have a conversation with the student and then the student got ISS. This student continues to bully other students. There was teachers present during the other bullying incidents and every time the school Administration said they talk to the teacher and they seen nothing. My daughter had stuff thrown at her in class and a male student tell her he was going to physically harm her. My daughter reported it to the school and they brushed her off. She didn't feel like things were going to change and feared for her safety at the school. She would have me come to the school and get her almost everyday because it was so bad. The threats were reported to the police and they forward it on to the juvenile officer. It ended up with my daughter on a 12 hour mental health hold in the hospital after she tried to commit suicide. The last meeting I had with the school they were victim-blaming my daughter and she refused to return to the school. I had to pull her out and homeschool her. She doesn't intent on going back and is not planning on getting her GED. My daughter is forced to miss out on important milestones in her life such as prom and graduation because of the school not doing what needs to be done. My daughter has been put on several different medicines and counseling two times a month. 

STORY 3:

From a student:

I have been bullied from name calling, physical abuse, mental abuse, and emotional abuse. This bullying started in Kindergarten and continues to this day. I have spoke to several different staff members from Eastview Elementary, Olean Intermediate Middle School, and Olean High School. The bullying comes from many different students but one student has bullied me since 1st grade. I was pushed down the stairs once by another girl and nothing got done. The school does nothing to help us students who go through being bullied. I have been victim blamed by staff members in the Olean High School. That was the point when I stopped reporting it. I now suffer from Depression, anxiety, and Panic attacks. I still have a  year before I turn 16 and have been considering quitting. I am hoping this will stop. I don't want to quit school but I don't want to feel the way the bullying makes me feel. 

What is at Stake?

Statistics:

• Bullying and Cyberbullying is the 2nd (62%) biggest child health concern among parents (C.S. Mott Children's
  Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, 2020)
• More than 8 in 10 LGBTQ students experienced harassment or assault at school (GLSEN, 2020)
• In 2019, over half (52.3%) of students said they had been bullied at school in the past 30 days, compared to
  38.6% in 2016 (a 35% increase) (Hinduja and Patchin 2019).
• Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic
  achievement, and dropping out of school. (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2019)

School Violence:

• Relatives of an 18-year-old student suspected of injuring four people in a shooting at Timberview High School on Wednesday said the teen had been bullied by fellow students.
  • https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/relatives-of-school-shooting-suspect-say-he-was-bullied/2760907/

• SINGLE MOTIVE: A recently suspended 14-year-old student fatally stabbed a classmate in the chest as he exited his middle
  school. The students had been friends, but their relationship had deteriorated due to frequent conflicts. The victim of the
  stabbing had previously threatened, harassed, and bullied the attacker. The attacker grew to fear for his life and stopped
  attending school in order to avoid the victim, which led to the attacker’s suspension for missing class. The attacker later
  reported that he had been motivated by fear, stating that if he had not returned to school to stab his classmate, he believed
  that he would have been killed himself.
  • Protecting America’s schools - united states secret service. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/Protecting_Americas_Schools.pdf

• A 14-year-old student fatally shot a classmate at his middle school. The victim had been the subject of harassment by the
   attacker and other students, who would call the victim derogatory homophobic names. The attacker later reported that the
   victim had made comments that made him uncomfortable, citing them as “the final straw” in his decision to attack.
  • Protecting America’s schools - united states secret service. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/Protecting_Americas_Schools.pdf

 

If we do not stop the school bullying then we are putting our children at risk of self harm or school violence such as school shootings. 

 

What needs to happen?

The Olean City School District needs to update the Code of Conduct.

• Bullying section of the Code of Conduct should be changed. Students who bully should go through the disciplinary levels for each report regardless if it is the same student or a different student. 
  • Example: The student bullies 3 different students on different occasions. Each of them report it to the administration. The student should be subjected to the 3rd level of the disciplinary per Code of Conduct. 
• The victims or witnesses of the Code of Conduct violation should not be punished or blamed...aka victim blaming. If a Staff member victim blames then they should be subject to a disciplinary action. 
• Teachers should be made to stand outside there classrooms to watch students and protect them. NOT SOCIALIZING WITH OTHER TEACHERS OR STAFF. 
• Students that threaten physical harm should be subject to immediate Out of School Sustention following an investigation and report to the local police and a mental evaluation. 
  • Parent/Parents are responsible to get the mental evaluation or risk CPS report.  
•  Victims of bullying or harassment should be offered after care such as counseling sessions. 
• Bullies should be required to complete counseling sessions and a class be set up to education on the impact of bullying.

There is a known drug issues in the school.

• The Local Drug Task Force should be brough in on several different occasions with a dog and students found with drugs should be subject to disciplinary actions. 

The time is now to Act. If we do not do something soon, how many students will suffer from physical harm, mental health issues, and dropping out. 

IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.