By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall, An Independent Populist
Bridget H. published the following on her NextDoor page regarding the continuing bullying problem int Mentor Schools:
“Once again bullying was on the school board’s agenda at the last meeting. This time it was due to a very significant event in the elementary school that was followed up on with little to no consequences. I just want to share the speech I wrote and was unable to share. I was ill and unable to attend, so my mother attempted to read it in the allotted time, she didn’t get through it all.
Hello. My name is Bridget, and I am here as a parent and an advocate for change. I have three daughters—one graduated in 2021, one in high school, and one at Shore. For 15 years, I have watched this district ignore cancerous spread of bullying among the students as well as from school staff. It has taken their happiness and some have lost their lives. To be clear, I’m not here to complain—I am here to demand action.
My youngest daughter has endured the most. For months, in a large group text she was verbally attacked and told to kill herself, and if she couldn’t, they would help. This inevitably led to a fight at school.
During this, i was in frequent contact with Ms. Hoose and the previous Crossroads counselor. If it wasn’t for Ms Wolf, my daughter would not be here today During the fight, my daughter was attacked by another girl, who she never met or talked to. This girl was to be supervised at all times. Instead, she was unsupervised and brutally assaulted my daughter. She repeatedly punched her in the base of her skull and we ended up in the ER. When she went back to school, my daughter had to hide because her attacker was still roaming freely.
Why does she have to hide? Why do you consistently fail to ensure her safety? What happened to consequences, discipline and accountability? The “see something, say something” policy is trash if nothing is done when something is said. The schools are failing to guarantee the safety of our children, failing at the most basic level of their job.
Let me be clear: its not just the students. This problem includes leadership. When principals are modeling inappropriate behavior—like male staff wearing leggings to show the girls that they are inappropriate, or the PTA Vice President and her daughter bullying my 3rd grader —its really no wonder the culture of bullying thrives. Leadership sets the tone, and the tone is broken.
I want to offer solutions:
1. Parents of bullies should attend a mandatory meeting. If they refuse, there need to be consequences—no sports or extracurriculars, NO privileges. Parents must sign behavior improvement plans and participate in their child’s rehabilitation.
2. Bring back real discipline. Lunch with friends, riding the bus, and hallway freedom are privileges, not rights. If they can’t behave they should lose these privileges until they prove otherwise.
3. If parents of bullies admit they need help, the school should connect them with resources like counseling or behavioral programs. Turning a blind eye is not acceptable.
4. Show the bullies how they have hurt people and the impact it made. Allow them the chance to understand and apologize. The Crossroads program should provide empathy training.
5. Safety: Students with known behavioral issues requiring supervision must be supervised at all times
6. Leadership Standards: Staff must be held accountable. Anything less undermines authority and perpetuates the toxic culture.
This district has ignored bullying for too long, children have lost their lives. If you don’t act now, you are complicit in every future incident of bullying, assault, and harm. I am here to demand that you do better—for my daughters, for your children, and for every student, they all deserve a safe education.
Please understand, I am a Nurse and a mother of teenagers, so my tolerance for the absurd is quite high. This district’s negligence and inaction exceeds my tolerance and should be considered criminal.”
LFC Editorial Opinion by Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
I have been to many Mentor school board meetings. Regrettably, with the current school board being controlled 3-2 by extreme leftists, and being encouraged by the current Superintendent, the school district cannot be saved. We are an ungodly, uneducated, and immoral society. Darkness has enveloped the school district, and they are on the wrong path.
The only solution is to either vote out the leftists, starve the district of money (no more votes for levies), or starve them of children (send your children to other schools).
At the 21:30 mark of the following video of a recent school board meeting you can hear citizens express their displeasure with the bullying at the Mentor schools.
Categories: Lake County Cities & Townships, Mentor, Uncategorized