By Charlotte Smith
Recently reports on social media claim students are exiting Bladen County School buses and fighting. Some parents and area residents are concerned about the safety of the students exiting buses to fight and reached out to BladenOnline with their concerns.
Bladen County Schools Superintendent, Dr. Robert Taylor stated the issues have been investigated and disciplinary actions are handed out accordingly. The Sheriff’s office has also been made aware of the matters.
The most recent report was on Tuesday, March 4 posted by Bladen County mother, Mrs. Angie Wilkins Parnell on Facebook.
Mrs. Parnell stated, “..Today when the school bus came to a stop at my child’s grandmothers house, as she was walking the isle to exit the bus, another child kicked her in the back of the leg almost causing her to fall. She did make a comment that she shouldn’t have, but nonetheless, had that been me at 16 it wouldn’t have been a comment…and I’ll leave it at that. She proceeded to exit the bus. The other child got up and followed her off the bus (all the while my child was unaware someone was behind her)…”
She continued, “THE BUS DRIVER ALLOWED ANOTHER CHILD TO FOLLOW MY CHILD OFF THE BUS AT HER GRANDMOTHERS HOUSE! This child pushed her down from behind and held her down from behind as she beat her. THE BUS DRIVER DROVE OFF WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING AND CONTINUED THE ROUTE ON THIS STREET. AFTER DROPPING OTHER KIDS OFF, THE DRIVER WENT BACK AND PICKED THIS CHILD UP!..”
Mrs. Parnell’s account of the day’s events continue on her post and has since been updated. You may view the full post below.
Mrs. Valerie F. Newton, Public Relations & Information Officer with Bladen County Schools released a statement about the recent incident.
She stated, “With regard to a bus incident that took place on the afternoon of March 4, we have fully investigated the actions of the bus driver and the students.”
While general statue laws prevent a school system from being able to disclose certain information as it relates to employees and students, we are able to share the following:
The Bladen County Schools Code of Conduct book, which is given to all students at the beginning of the school year (and is located on the district website) outlines conduct and safety rules for bus passengers. It states, “The behavior and the safety of the passenger is the responsibility of the parent/guardian until the student boards the bus and after the student exits the bus at his or her scheduled bus stop.”
According to the Schools’ report, two students were involved in a fight after exiting the bus at a designated stop. So that no other students could exit or enter the bus, and as a safety measure, the bus driver closed the door, drove approximately 10 yards, and stopped the bus to call 911. Due to the bus being near the Bladen/Robeson county lines, the 911 call was routed to Robeson County. 911 attempted to re-route the call back to Bladen.
While waiting for the 911 call to re-route and law enforcement to arrive, one of the two students that exited the bus came back to the bus asking to get back on; the driver allowed the student to get back on the bus. Law enforcement had not arrived at this point so the driver immediately drove back to the school, dropping the student off with school administrators.
Newton stated, “We are not able to share specific discipline measures taken with the student/s but can share that the Bladen County Schools Code of Conduct book lists fighting as a Level II violation. A Level II violation carries with it a 5 to 10-day suspension with a possible recommendation for long-term suspension.”
The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office investigated the 911 call using the call transcript, interview with the driver, and students, according to Newton, and determined that the actions the driver took were appropriate and correct.
Conduct and safety rules for school bus passengers found in the Bladen County Schools Code of Conduct book details that “the driver of a school bus subject to the direction of the principal shall have complete authority over and the responsibility for the operation of the bus and the maintaining of good order and conduct upon such bus, and shall report promptly to the principal any misconduct upon such bus or disregard or violation of the driver’s instruction by any person riding upon such bus (GS. 115C-245(b),”.
The bus driver has been assigned a different bus until both the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and Bladen County Schools complete the investigation.
Physical fighting is a mistake some teenagers make during their adolescent years and it takes the whole community to address the issues of fighting, according Dr. Peter Stringham.
Dr. Stringham with Adolescent Violence Prevention states, “Teenagers are not finished growing and they will make mistakes. It is the job of parents and the community to correct their mistakes and teach them the right way to go. Teenagers need to hear the same messages of respect, enjoyment of life, handling frustration well, communicating well and loving themselves and the world from a variety of different sources.”
He adds, “At home, at school and in the community, children need to be praised when they do the right thing and gently and firmly corrected when they are wrong. They need guidance.”
Dr. Stringham give tips to help prevent physical violence in his article at GreifSpeaks.org.
View Mrs. Parnell’s full post here:
About Author
