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.
Make sure she has the ability too.
My daughters, aged 13 and 7, take karate lessons. Sadly, I have no doubt that they'll need to use it at some point to defend themselvs, given the direction American youth are headed when it comes to treating girls with respect. We owe them the ability to take care of themselves.
Jeesh, move along, for this kind of stuff has been going on in our country since "The Beaver" was prominent in TV land.
Why I remember when I was in the sixth grade I was cheated out of losing a marble tournament because my foe and the referee were friends and in my frustration brought up the fact that they were cheating. I was sent home for it.
I shouldn't have disputed the decision of the referee.
It's basically the same thing isn't it? /sarcasm
Amen.
I've taught her how to punch and she can almost throw a softball farther than I can. Plus, she has a 16yo brother. She can hold her own. :)
"...The punk that did this needs to get expelled..."
The punk that did this needs to be in jail for assault and other reasons.
For your own sake keep a low profile on this for if it gets out, "Karate'" will take the same path as "hand guns" have for the "Karate'" challenged self defenders!
Hopefully she will sue and then get enough to pay for a private school and get out of that school. I can envision a "payoff" like that by the public school district to make the publicity go away.
Good Girl!
Yet another victim of liberals who are afraid to enforce disciplinary procedures..
People are STUPID.
This is very, very common at public schools. When it comes to outcast students, the administrators as much children as the children they are supposed to supervise.
The purpose of zero-tolerance policies is to prevent students from defending themselves and to pacify them through fear. Of course the enforcers of zero-tolerance policies ignore real bullies; serious gangsters, bullies, hard-core druggies, and criminals are just too scary to punish. Victims are usually easier to punish; hence, we get stories like this. I heard plenty of stories like this when I went to school.
For your own sake keep a low profile on this for if it gets out, "Karate'" will take the same path as "hand guns" have for the "Karate'" challenged self defenders!
Nothing new.
When I was in high school in North Carolina (1961) I was “that damnedyankee”. I enrolled in a Judo/Karate club. The first time I had to use it (5-1 odds) the principal informed me that any more use of such a dangerous skill would get me expelled.
I ignored him.
You mean you don't take that exit either?
I watched the video, thanks for mentioning it.
It's absolutely unbelievable that this child was attacked and then told to stay home. The principal and assistant principal should be fired. No questions asked.
They have likely violated some of the ADA with their negligence in reporting it to the police and not dealing with the bullying before it got out of hand.
There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG with parents standing up to lazy, incompetent, ignorant and fearful school staff. You called the cops, and you knew exactly what the right thing to do was.
The so called staff is so afraid of the bullies AND their parents, that they forget that there are tough parents like you out there that aint going to take their bs.
Oh and utilizing the media for your purpose is worth it from time to time. Do you know the name of the reporter who covers your school district perhaps? It helps to be on a name to name basis with them too.
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