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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]" They also disabled reviews on Google. As for your hope that things have significanly changed, they haven't. Lowell remains an absolutely terrible environment."[/b]

What is this based on? Hopefully not just the fact that they didn't want their current staff and school community harassed online based on the virality of this unfortunate story from years before many of these people even arrived at the school? [/quote]

Based on other incidents. Here's another documented one (12/23) of an abusive child who was allowed to present a danger severe enough and for long enough that fifteen parents felt it necessary to organize. Note this line: [i]This persistent bullying establishes a culture where
other male students feel empowered to mistreat female and non-binary students.[/i]

From the testimony given on this thread by the survivor of the "unfortunate story from years before," it seems that culture was in place for quite some time.

December 13, 2023

Dear Donna,

We are the parents of [redacted] grade students who are deeply concerned with the lack of progress
and transparency in addressing the bullying, verbal and physical threats, and violent acts that
have been perpetrated against our children or other students in the grade. We are profoundly
disappointed by the lack of communication between administration and teachers about these
issues, as well as between the school and parents when specific targeted encounters occur.
We understand that protecting the confidentiality of students is a serious matter but addressing
our serious concerns in a clear, proactive, transparent and effective manner is equally
important.

We appreciate that you, [redacted] and [redacted] have met with many of us. We have been told that
an action plan is in place to address the bullying. As a result, some of our children are not being
directly targeted right now and apologies have been given, a possible sign of progress.
However, the pattern of misbehavior, classroom disruptions, and targeting of kids, in particular
female and non-binary students, continues. This persistent bullying establishes a culture where
other male students feel empowered to mistreat female and non-binary students. Since the
beginning of the school year, we have seen how this behavior has spread from one child to
multiple boys who now seem to think that bullying and saying unkind things to other children
have no significant consequences.

We are very concerned that the lack of visible, proactive action and meaningful consequences is
sending the message to our kids that their well-being is not the school’s priority. As an
educator, you know that the messages children receive when they are young become
internalized.

As we’ve mentioned during our individual meetings, some students are suffering physical and
mental harm from the stress and anxiety caused by this ongoing situation. Unfortunately, thus
far, your well-intentioned actions have fallen far short of the necessary outcomes.

Sadly, this has created an untenable situation in the classroom that is harmful to our children’s
wellbeing and is incredibly disruptive to the learning environment. Being an effective teacher
becomes impossible when one has to spend all their energy addressing negative behavior–
which, as noted, has spread from one student to multiple others–and is constantly worried
about protecting students. The Lowell administration needs to provide the necessary support to
the teachers to create a classroom that is safe and welcoming, thus enabling learning.

Therefore, we ask that the school take the following steps immediately:

1. Provide an additional full-time professional educator for [redacted] class, and during
recess and other times when the whole grade is together. This step has been requested
already by several of us but no action seems to have been taken.

2. Ensure that prompt, effective and transparent action is taken to address any acts of
violence, aggression, bullying or discrimination, and that the parents of all children
involved are notified.

3. Devise and implement a zero-tolerance policy for physical violence at the school.

4. Schedule a whole grade meeting of the [redacted] grade parents with the administration and a
trained third-party facilitator to ensure that all parents are aware of the current harmful
environment that their children are facing and/or contributing to.

5. Provide supplemental lessons for the class on identifying and standing up to bullying
and discrimination.

As the head of the school, we expect you to uphold Lowell’s principles, fostering a safe and
welcoming environment for all of its students, including girls and non-binary students.

Sincerely,
[fifteen parents]
[/quote]

I'm curious to know what came of this? I'm guessing this is/was also middle school.[/quote]

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