Janice R. Andrews
A family in Virginia Beach is coming out after their 11-year-old son was kicked out of St. John the Apostle Catholic School for not telling anyone right away that a friend brought a gun to school. Tim Anderson, the family’s lawyer, says the ban is unfair because the sixth-grader was trying to do the right thing by telling the school, even if it wasn’t right away.
Details about the incident
The event took place last week at St. John the Apostle Catholic School while students were studying for a standard test. While the test was going on, Anderson says, a classmate showed the 11-year-old boy a bullet. The boy was so shocked by what he saw that he didn’t tell anyone right away. He didn’t tell the school director until about two hours later. He told someone about it right away, after finishing the test and going to another class.
“They’re like, ‘Thank you so much for reporting, now you’re suspended,'” Anderson said, angry that the school chose to punish the boy.
The School’s Answer
The school called the cops, who found the bullet in the bag of the other student after the report was made. Two days of school were taken away from the kid who brought the gun. Interestingly, the 11-year-old who reported the event got the same punishment—a two-day suspension—for not reporting the bullet right away.
Rachel Wigand, the boy’s mother, was upset about the punishment, especially since her son had done the right thing by reporting the event, even if it wasn’t right away. Anderson spoke for the family’s anger: “They’re ruining this kid’s academic career by putting a suspension on his middle school record.”
Wigand said she was upset that the school wouldn’t lift the ban, even though she tried to talk to the director about it. Even though the boy went back to school on Monday, his family is still eager that the ban be lifted.
Concerns about school rules and public safety
A representative for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond supported the school’s actions and stressed how important it is to report possible safety threats right away. “In a real emergency, gaps in reporting time could have major effects on school safety,” the spokesperson said, adding that the school has rules in place to make sure that reports are made on time.
Michael Riley, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, agreed and said, “Our school safety policies make this clear. We cannot and will not take chances when it comes to student safety.” The school’s firm stand on reporting right away is in line with larger attempts to keep the environment safe.
Wigand thinks that her son’s decision to wait to report was because he was afraid of being called a “snitch.” She said that her son wanted to stay private, but the way the school handled the case made that impossible. “The school lost that because of how they handled it,” she said, adding that her son now feels like he is being picked on unfairly.
Wigand stressed how important it was to protect students’ privacy while pushing them to report anything that seems fishy. She told her son, “You did the right thing.” “You keep your head up and tell other kids that if they see something… they need to tell someone.”
A Call to Action
The boy was suspended, and Anderson wants the school to say sorry and take the punishment off of his record. Wigand agrees with this and stresses that schools need to make it easier to students how and when to report situations that could be dangerous.
“These kids are always going through active shooter drills,” Wigand said. “But how do we teach them to report?”
The family’s position is in line with the “See Something, Say Something” message, which tells people to report anything that seems fishy. But this story makes me wonder how schools make sure students are safe while also being fair to those who come forward, even if they don’t act right away.
For now, the family is still trying to get justice for their son. They are hoping that the school will change its mind and make it a habit for students to report safety concerns without worrying about being punished unfairly.
