The Uvalde Foundation For Kids
12 December 2023 945am (CST)
Edgewood City Schools Bullying
(Trenton, Ohio)
_________
Nearly two weeks after Edgewood High School student, Zariah Thomas, committed suicide, December 1st 2023 - The Uvalde Foundation For Kids, a national nonprofit formed in response to the May 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting; announced Tuesday morning, following numerous family & school community requests, that it is launching an independent review of bullying within district schools & is extending various bullying prevention & education resources to the school community & district.
The Uvalde Foundation For Kids, dedicated to preventing all forms of school violence; including what it calls a, "rampant culture of bullying," within American schools," announced in Tuesday's release, that over 13 families have contacted the foundation charging the school administration & district with failing to address the bullying of Thomas & other students over a period of months and even years, to present. Officials noted that several parents are reporting current or planned withdrawal of their student(s) from district schools due to the ongoing issues
.
The foundation stated that it is in the process of reaching out to district officials immediately regarding concerns sparking the review, to highlight the issues being presented & to hopefully work with the district toward national solutions to the local problem. Further, the foundation stated in the release that it is extending various bullying support resources to the school community to deal with current events surrounding the students suicide & current concerns.
These include a 24 hour student bullying support & online bullying prevention & reporting center.
The foundation plans to present a preliminary report & new programming resources to the district; following a December 18th school board meeting, Thursday at Heritage Auditorium in Edgewood High School.
One such program, "The Kindness Project," launched in Arizona, engages students to actively participate in bullying prevention through its "Kindness Murals:"
The foundation itself, has been involved in several national bullying cases, including the
Stewart County, TN case of student, Samuel Manning, who committed suicide allegedly due to claims of ongoing suicide:
Foundation leaders are cautioning the school community against immediately connecting student bullying to school district negligence or even directly to suicide. Founder, Daniel Chapin stated in the release, "We are attempting to ease parent & school community concerns as they are wavering in their trust of the districts ability to protect their kids from student bullying & tragedies such as this. As a part of this however, we are cautioning against understandable, "Knee jerk reactions," as answers and solutions are sought, to place blame on school/district officials...
Bullying has so very many layers and to end it, we must address it as a cultural problem involving a menagerie of participants & yet with solutions involving a balance between discipline & guidance. We will continue to provide our education & support resources for the students and families of this community. We also continue to redirect individuals to reach out to school & district officials themselves so as to build those bridges of communication, ultimately solutions & hopefully - healing.
A student lost their life - The family deserves answers. The community wants change. They deserve as much. Students want their classrooms & worlds bullying & violence free. They deserve as much. So did Zariah. In this whole process, our foundation encourages those, rightfully hurting, to remember to deal with the grief and the loss - not just answers to the why's - But simply the hurt and the pain. Embrace that. The answers to the why's will hopefully embrace you later ..."
Additional Information: Jennifer West
The Uvalde Foundation For Kids
888 685 8464
