EAST HAVEN--Another mother is speaking out about her child being bullied at elementary school. Stephanie Delgado of East Hartford turned to FOX 61 after hearing about the pain and frustration three Manchester mothers are experiencing.
Delgado showed us a pair of ripped pants and a picture of her third grade son with a red eye. She said she had to physically remove another student from her son as she witnessed a fight as the two were getting off the bus in their East Hartford neighborhood.
"He just looked at me and crossed the street," said Delgado. So she consoled her son and waited until the next day to call O’Connell Elementary School. Delgado says she never had a conversation with an administrator until she went to the school. “When I was leaving, the vice principal was walking in and the secretary said, 'Oh that's Mrs. Delgado,' and she was like, 'Oh,' and we kind of talked."
Delgado says that left her feeling even more frustrated. She said, "No discipline, no in school or out of school suspension. It has to stop somewhere and honestly, I've run out of options."
She says the same student has been harassing her son for quite some time. "When he won an award for good behavior, the kid ripped it up. Apparently, it happened in line to get on the bus so it was on school grounds and nothing was done," said Delgado.
FOX 61 reached out to the bus company, Dattco, which said it's the bus driver's responsibility to file a report if they witness trouble, and that wasn't done. After complaints by Delgado, Dattco said they did have a conversation with the school, but the school never followed up.
Delgado says, "What do you do when your son is not a fighter? I don't know. It's hard. It's tough. When he tells me, 'I don't want to go to school today because of this and that.' There's only so much protection I can give him."
The principal at O'Connell Elementary and the superintendent of East Hartford Public Schools did not return our calls.
Since similar complaints aired on FOX 61 last week, administrators in Manchester have agreed to talk with us about the district's bullying policy.
For more information on bullying, click here to read about the federal government's efforts, and how to put a stop to it.