Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – One parent broke down in tears, in front of the Susquehanna Township School Board, April 22nd, citing “severe bullying” issues and “physical altercations” that her young daughter faced, forcing her to withdraw from Thomas W. Holzman Elementary School.
Michele Miller, mother of two children in the district, addressed the board, sometimes in tears, as she complained that: “nothing gets done” in spite of reaching out to the principal and school resource officer. Her child is now enrolled in cyber schooling. But the ongoing trauma has caused her child mental health issues, she said in tears.
Miller said she alerted law enforcement, but “because these kids are 10 years old, nothing gets done.”
“These kids who forced me to pull my daughter who loves… loves school… great student, great grades, great attitude – she is no longer able to safely be in the Thomas Holtzman school system,” Miller said. “So, we’re punishing students who want to be part of the school system, part of a productive school system, and they can’t because it’s not safe. The environment is not safe and supportive.”
“Our kids are suffering and it’s not just her. There are other children that are suffering… that are being bullied daily; and nothing is getting done. What are you going to do?”
One board member told Ms. Miller, “someone will be in touch”; while another board member gave a litany of assuring words to Ms. Miller that harassment should not be tolerated.
Her remarks begin at the 29:20 minute mark, from the April 22 board meeting recording:
Harrisburg100 
Wow!
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This is my daughter I had to pull. The situation was that my daughter is on blood thinners for medical reasons and was released medically to go back to school. As long as she was careful and didn’t get hit in the head, get cut or anything. So no sports, gym, very careful at recess etc. This girl in her class went out of her way TWICE in one day to purposely try to hurt my daughter. Threw a stuffed animal at her head and then at lunch shoved her head. Other kids saw it but it’s not on camera… So I called the school as soon as she told me because those things like getting hit in the head could kill her and a kid intentionally tried to hurt or kill her on purpose knowing what could happen. We called the principal and went to the police. The principal said oh well she needs to let us know as soon as it happens not after school. Well, had she told on this girl during school the girl could’ve retaliated worse. Principal never called me back so that Friday I just showed up and got a bunch of bullshit from him. He said he’s had to tell this other girl multiple times to stay away from multiple kids throughout the school year. So this kid is a known problem. I said whatever if you’re not going to protect my kid I will and I pulled her. That following Monday her friend texted her after school and said at recess the same girl who tried to hurt her prior said “We need to hurt her, not kill her” and another girl said “I’m not above bringing a gun to school”. So back to the police we went and an actual report got filed this time. Yet BOTH girls remained in school. They got a talking to and their parents got called. The district said they can’t tell me what happened to the girls because of their rights, but when the girls remained in school in person there’s nothing being done. The board told me that they can ensure my child’s safety by having a meeting with my daughter and the 2 girls who did this in the counselors office and “set expectations”. I’m pretty sure expectations are already in place to keep your fingers to yourself and not threaten others. Pretty sure the expectations are to be protected at school. And now she’s suffering trying to do online school, missing her friends, all because the school wants to turn a blind eye and not protect our babies. They’re all disgraceful.
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I would highly suggest that you reach out to an attorney. My personal suggestion would be Marc Scaringi who has an office I think in your backyard. He is an excellent attorney on constitutional rights and if your daughter is essentially denied public schooling because of this that strikes me as a assault on your rights
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Someone told me to share this with you: There is an app called Safe 2 Say. Everything is recorded at state level! It holds the district accountable!
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I had to pull my daughter out of the district as she was getting bullied and jumped regularly and nothing would get done about it I had several meetings with the principal and always got will take care of it we don’t tolerate that kinda of behavior but it just continued until my child was so depressed she wanted to end her life She is at a new school now and doing better than ever.
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Anonymous participant.. you can file for a PFA against a minor on behalf of your daughter. I just did it yesterday for my son unfortunately. Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions.
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Once you have a PFA the school HAS to take action as this is now a legally binding document that your daughter can bring to school. The perpetrator will NOT be able to say a word to your daughter, have any other students approach your daughter on their behalf, or make any gestures, threats, etc. toward your daughter. They tried to kill her. You should get it granted.
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I’ve been in your shoes too. I’m so sorry that you are going through this. My daughter was bullied so bad that she started to make notes and then just wanted to die. She ended up spending some time in a psychiatric hospital. Many schools say this will be handled but no one ever follows through. After being in the hospital I homeschooled. Enrolling your child in cyber school is a great idea. Your child is in a safe environment. Check to see if the cyber school has field trips/activities on a regular basis. It’s a great way to make new friends.
Best of luck to you and your child. Find peace in knowing that as sad as it is, your child is now free from bullying. You made the right choice. 👍 Please feel free to message me if you need help, you are not alone. 💕
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So annoying that this happens all over at ALL schools in the area and at ALL grade levels and NOTHING is done anywhere because we are so worried about the abusers “rights”. It is victim shaming or whatever. It’s the mindset of the country and it is WRONG! Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you, NOT do unto others just because you can, to see what will happen or whatever. BE NICE people! It doesn’t cost you anything. Just ignore others if you don’t like them or they’re not like you or “weird” or “too studious” or different for some reason. Think about the tables being turned. If you would not want someone to push, kick, hit. throw things at you, say bad or hurtful things to you, then don’t do it to them.
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