Bullied to death
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RELENTLESS BULLYING, including anti-gay slurs, by students at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield pushed sixth-grader Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover to take his own life, according to his mother. The quality of interventions by school officials is unclear. But an act so desperate by one so young is a clear reminder of how schools can become torture chambers for students perceived as different.
Massachusetts led the nation in 1993 by crafting an anti-discrimination law for gay and lesbian students. But the law is only as effective as the educators who implement it. And the stakes can be higher in poor, urban districts like Springfield, where nonconformity too often draws aggressive attention. Teachers or administrators who ignore even a single degrading comment in that environment can open the door to a world of pain.
Any sentient school official knows that gay students, or those perceived to be gay, are teased and bullied disproportionately. One remedy is the use of student handbooks that outline the specific consequences of discriminating against gay students. At New Leadership, students in the middle and high school grades sign a Golden Rule contract pledging not to "laugh, tease or poke fun at others." But there is no specific mention in the student handbook of discrimination based on race, religion, or sexual orientation. The school's written anti-harassment policies need to reflect the reality that students who are different actually face.
Peter Daboul, chairman of the school's trustees, says being or appearing gay "is not a stigma at the school." And students in both the sixth and seventh grades, he says, were studying the effects of bullying this year as part of their class projects. A school task force, he says, will examine all incident reports involving Walker-Hoover. And an investigation by the state Department of Education is likely to follow.
There may be a role for independent investigators, as well. New Leadership, which operates in modular units, may be too large to ensure student safety. Enrollment at the decade-old charter school was originally capped at 375. But it was serving almost 500 students by last year, when it sought to renew its charter. Despite reservations about the school's fiscal and academic standing, the state overlooked the violation and approved raising the enrollment cap to 500.
A case such as this requires education officials to consider what policies and practices may have been overlooked. Focusing solely on bullies and victims is rarely enough. How can schools build a critical mass of students who are willing to come to the aid of a targeted student and stand against their peers? The family of a dead 11-year-old boy deserves to know.
