Community members came out in droves for the school board meeting.
by Joseph Schultz
The crowd that packed the Wayland Union School Board meeting Monday night took up the persistent issue of bullying and youth suicide.
The mood was bitter, from the passing of freshman Dallyce Parm, 1 5, who took her own life April 2. Parm’s death cast a palpable shadow of sadness over the meeting.
Superintendent Tim Reeves recognized, in a prepared statement, the deep sadness the community over the student’s passing. He went on to address the questions and concerns over bullying in the school district.
“First, I want to be clear,” Reeves said. “Based on the information available to us, Dallyce’s death was not the result of bullying within the school setting.”
The superintendent warned about inaccurate information and agendas being put forth that were not supported by facts. When an accusation of bullying is made, the district follows its policies and conducts an investigation.
He said one of the things school officials want to determine is if the conduct was bullying or simply mean and unkind behavior. That distinction, according to Reeves, matters in how the conduct is addressed.
It was also acknowledged by the superintendent that many student conflicts start or escalate outside of school, often on social media.
The superintendent is not alone in this observation. Recently Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was ordered by a New Mexico jury to pay $375 million in civil penalties for misleading its customers about the safety of its social platforms. In California, Meta was ordered to pay a woman $4.2 million for causing her addictive and suicidal behavior through Meta’s “engagement-driven design.”
Meta is appealing the decisions.
Reeves suggested a partnership between the school and parents. He expressed that when parents monitor students’ online communications, they help the students “feel safe, respected and supported” at school.
Parent Amber Gillette informed the board that she had tried to raise the issue of bullying in the schools to the board before. When Gillette’s daughter was assaulted on a school bus, the lack of action from the school administration caused Gillette to remove her daughter from the school district.
Gillette stated that when she posted on Facebook that she would be raising the issue of bullying to the board, a number of responses came from other parents who also had removed their children from the school district because of bullying.
Another parent, Nissa Smith, came out to show support for the district on the bullying issue. Smith expressed the need to continue finding “better pathways of understanding” in light of not only the passing of Parm but also the attempted suicide of another unnamed student on April 11.
Parent Anthony Winters lamented that search results for Wayland Schools will bring up stories of bullying but not the positive things happening in the school district. Winters noted that the news that the Robotics Team was going to the state finals, as well as the awards, recognitions, and community events the district has been receiving, have been overshadowed by tragedy.
Reeves ended his statement about the loss by saying, “The young people in this community are watching how we handle conflict and handle tragedy. Let’s show them what it looks like to come together, to ask questions, and to work side by side to learn, heal and grow.”
