Posted on 05/27/2004 1:18:08 PM PDT by Roberts
Student Whose Hair Set Afire Told To Stay Home Alleged Attacker Remains In School
POSTED: 8:23 am MDT May 26, 2004 UPDATED: 11:07 am MDT May 26, 2004
DENVER -- A 13-year-old Denver girl said she was threatened with a knife at her middle school and her hair was set on fire, yet she was the one who was told to stay home for the remainder of the school year while her alleged attacker wasn't suspended or even investigated.
Courtney Glowczewski has a small right arm and leg because of cerebral palsy, a disability that her teachers say has not kept her from working hard in school and being a good student.
"I do really good in my classes. My teachers tell me, 'Good job,' and, 'You're doing very good,' and 'Excellent girl,'" said Glowczewski.
But her physical appearance has made her a target of taunting and of physical attack, which she said has never been addressed by the administration at Martin Luther King Middle School. Last week, she said the bullying got worse when she said she was threatened and assaulted by a seventh grade boy.
"He pulled out a knife, a silver knife, a pocket knife, and then he said 'What!?' So I was scared and didn't know what to do," said Glowczewski.
As she walked to her seat she smelled smoke and one of her classmates was patting her hard on the back.
"I looked and there was a black spot on the back of my shirt. And then I saw some black hair falling from my hair," said Glowczewski.
Her hair was on fire and the other student said that she was trying to help put it out.
Her mother, Sherrie, was called to school when her daughter reported the incident to the assistant principal. Sherrie Glowczewski was outraged when she was told by the administration at Martin Luther King that her daughter didn't need to come back and not to worry about the tests.
"I just wanted to go to a school that doesn't make fun of me. I wanted to be treated with respect," Glowczewski said, crying.
Meanwhile, her mother has made repeated phone calls to the assistant principal.
"I have no idea what they've done. That's why I want to speak to her. I want to know what happened to (the bullying suspect) and what's going on in that school," said Sherrie Glowczewski.
7NEWS discovered that while Glowczewski was sent home, her alleged attacker is still in school, even though administrators confirmed he had a knife.
The principal has now admitted her staff did not call police, did not interview potential witnesses, and did not conduct a proper investigation.
"He shouldn't come back in school. I should be in school taking my education and it's not fair," said Glowczewski.
The interim principal at Martin Luther King Middle School declined an on-camera interview, but said her staff made serious mistakes in this case and that she will offer Glowczewski and her family a summer school program and transportation.
Meanwhile, both Mark Stevens, the spokesman for Denver Public Schools, and the superintendent declined to discuss the case or DPS policy for dealing with such issues. That seems to be the same response Glowczewski's parents got when they complained to the administration.
And why do they do this? Allegedly because school violence is on the rise, and after Columbine they have to take the 'necessary steps' to ensure such incidents don't occur again.
Well, even Spetz would say that sounds nice. Sounds all warm and fluffy ...goodness, I now feel like going to hug a kitten and sing 'Coke brings the world together!'
However, a caveat pops up. The fact that since 1992 onwards (when they started keeping tabs), school violence -including the media darling cases of Columbine - has fallen by 40%. That is a huge drop. Imagine if income, voter-popularity, or taxes fell 40%!
Yet, if you look at the way the idea of school violence is propagated by the media and special interest groups, it would seem as if kids all over are waking up to go to school with murderous intent. As if they are raving rabid lunatics with a shiv up their sleeve and a landmine inside their backpack, next to their personalized copy of Mein Kampf and the bloody entrails of a clubbed baby seal!
Zero Tolerance is a reflex response to a threat that isn't really that much of a threat, and a response that does more harm than good.
Ain't that the truth?
The principal has now admitted her staff did not call police, did not interview potential witnesses, and did not conduct a proper investigation.
Years ago, when my daughter was in middle school a boy reached under her skirt as she was stepping onto the bus. He grabbed a handful of her crotch.
She decked him.
I was called to the school and informed she was banned from the bus and might be suspended for the assault. When I arrived at the office there was a good sized kid setting near the door - bloody nose and a good shiner starting. Jennifer looked very mad. I asked her what happened and she told me, the boy confirmed it.
As the vice principal approached I asked to see the police report.
“Well, I don’t think we have to bring the police into this.”
I went off. I told him I would call the police myself. He couldn’t understand, thinking I wanted to report that Jennifer assaulted the boy.
“You mean this punk sexually assaulted my daughter and you condone it? I’ll be damned!” “Sir, there is never any excuse for physical violence.” After we had a not-so civil talk, it was decided not to suspend her from the bus or school. I figured the punk having his butt beat - painfully - by a girl was enough. I told her there in the office that if it happened again I would expect him to be hospitalized.
Looks like that girl is going to own that school before this is over.
I saw the video, pissed me off. The punk that did this needs to get expelled.
What does she need summer school for? This only happened last week, and she ought to be back in school by tomorrow, unless this interim principal wants to get whacked with a huge personal lawsuit, in addition to the lawsuit that the school district is obviously already facing.
Sounds like you handled it well, and trained your daughter well in the art of fisticuffs! Good job.
She may end up owning the school, but what would that be worth? Administrators who fail/refuse to investigate an assault have no business being entrusted with our children.
This is typical treatment of special ed kids in public schools. I could tell you many stories, but the first one that comes to mind is that my daughter had to share a locker with another girl that she didn't know. As a matter of fact neither ever saw the other and for several months had no idea who they were sharing the locker with. When the girl found out that her locker partner was in special ed, she threw out my daughter's coat and books and invited three other girls to share the locker. My daughter reported it to the vice principal, who answered that those girls wouldn't do anything like that, they're very popular.
My thoughts exactly. Why isn't she back in school NOW, with the punk that lit her hair on fire expelled?
Not really, when you consider that her surname sounds Jewish. The principal (and some of his students) should undergo some uncomfortable questioning.
It amazes me that some adults are the equivalent of pro wrestling "referees" -- no one allowed to defend him/her self, and no excuse for any reaction to an assault.
Next time, your daughter may feel compelled to eliminate that punk's breeding capabilities.
As long as parents continue to take this kind of poo-hockey, they'll keep dishing it out. Pulling the kids out of this circus we call public education is the only way. Kinda reminds me of someone standing around when being beaten syaing; "Thank you, Sir!. May I have another?".
No training needed, she picked it up on her own - and from her mother.
When my late wife and I went to a bar, I could shoot pool relaxed, knowing she was watching my back.
At the risk of sounding litigious, that principal should be forced to answer some questions in a courtroom, under oath.
The article states that she has CP. Her phraseology may be more a function of her physical impairment than an indicator of mental ability, although her educational progress may have suffered, too.
Next time, your daughter may feel compelled to eliminate that punk's breeding capabilities.
That was one of my suggestions when I went off.
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