close
close

Parents are uniting, demanding answers after bullying incidents

Parents are uniting, demanding answers after bullying incidents

SAN ANTONIO – Parents of students at KIPP Academy in San Antonio are taking to social media to say their children are the victims of harsh bullying. They say they’re coming together to get answers.

Liz Jaramillo said she doesn’t remember the bullying ever being as bad as it was for her 10-year-old daughter.

“She was assaulted by one student and threatened to be killed by another in the toilet,” she said. “He had, like, a mental breakdown.”

To protect the students involved, we will not name them.

Jaramillo said this has been happening at KIPP Aspire Academy since mid-November. Adding that he spoke with the school’s principal and filed three reports with the San Antonio Police Department.

“I express to you that my daughter does not feel safe. Like, this is your job to keep these kids safe,” Jaramillo said. “As a parent, we leave them in your hands.. because you’re supposed to keep them safe.”

She is not alone. Katherine Mendoza is also seeking accountability from the school. She said her daughter had experienced the harassment since October.

“He isolates himself. He doesn’t express himself like he used to,” Mendoza said.

Katherine also filed reports with SAPD, adding that nothing has changed for her child either.

“It’s bad enough that we have to send them to school every day and think, OK. Are they going to be OK? Or are we going to have to worry about them calling us because something happened to one of our babies?” Mendoza asked.

I have reached out to management with KIPP Texas about this. They sent us a statement, saying in part: “The health and safety of our students, their families and staff remains our top priority and we have strict policies that prohibit bullying and harassment of any kind.”

“What does the kid have to do to get expelled?” Jaramillo asked. “I would think that assaulting another student would be enough to get expelled. You know, on top of that, a death threat.”

According to the KIPP Texas 2024 handbook, cases of assault, harassment, and bullying are all listed as “serious offenses subject to suspension, expulsion, or alternative placement.”

Now, Liz and Katherine are joining together with other parents going through the same thing to find a solution.

“Will it take one of the girls getting hurt or losing their life for you to care?” Mendoza asked.

“Our kids are still bullied every day, bullied every day,” Jaramillo said. “Hopefully, by that, I mean, they can see that it’s a big problem that they have in that school.”

Full statement from KIPP Texas Public Schools:

“At KIPP Texas Public Schools, the health and safety of our students, their families and staff remains our top priority, and we have strict policies that prohibit bullying and harassment of any kind.

It has come to our attention that there have been allegations of bullying at one of our schools in San Antonio. Upon learning of this, we began an internal investigation, including hearing from the parents of the students involved. Due to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), we cannot talk further about the students involved.

However, all concerns are handled in accordance with our policies and with the utmost care for the safety and well-being of all involved. Our principal and staff are dedicated to maintaining a positive school culture and ensuring the safety of all students. We will continue to address any concerns, promote open communication, and maintain our commitment to student safety and success.”