TIFTON, GA. — A mother from Tifton is speaking out after her daughters were suspended from Tift County High School following a fight with students she says had been bullying and harassing them for months. The mother, Kimberly Mack, is upset because she believes her children were only defending themselves, but all students involved in the fight were arrested and suspended.
The Fight and Its Background
According to Mack, her daughter and her friends had been facing relentless bullying from a group of other students. The bullying was not just happening at school; Mack says her child and her friends were even followed home and threatened with violence. She shared that the situation had become so severe that her daughter was living in fear.
“All of this could’ve been avoided. I had to bail my daughter out of jail yesterday because she stood there and defended herself,” Mack said, clearly frustrated by the ongoing situation.
Mack explained that the bullying finally escalated into a physical altercation. During a school day, her daughter was attacked by two girls in the hallway. Her sister tried to intervene and break up the fight, but soon, she was dragged into the altercation as well.
Parents Feel Let Down by School System
Mack feels deeply hurt by how the situation was handled by the school. She said she had reported the bullying multiple times to Tift County High School officials, but the problem was never properly addressed.
“I feel angry, I’m sad, I’m hurt, and I feel as if the system failed us. From day one, for months now, we have been reporting the same kids bullying them, and it resulted in my daughters getting hurt,” Mack said.
Another parent, Angela Howard, also spoke to WALB about her daughter’s bullying experience. Howard said the bullying had gotten so bad that her daughter was considering switching to an online school to escape the constant torment. Howard also reported the same group of bullies to the school, but nothing seemed to change.
“I’ve been to the school probably five times about the same girls. The school system tells us the same thing, and whatever they tell us, it’s the opposite. They tell us they will solve the problem, but they never do. The next week, I’m back at the school dealing with the same problem,” Howard explained.
The Consequences: Suspensions for All Students Involved
In the aftermath of the fight, all students involved were arrested and suspended. Mack believes that her daughters, who were just trying to defend themselves, are being punished unfairly. She believes the school system should have stepped in much earlier to protect the students and stop the bullying before it reached this point.
“Neither of our kids should be held to the torture stake at this point because they did everything that we as parents advised them to do,” Mack said, adding that the school punished her daughters even though they had tried to avoid violence. “For them to take the higher road and still get punished to this degree, it’s not fair at all. They got hurt and kicked out of school.”
Unanswered Questions
WALB reached out to Tift County Schools for a statement regarding the incident, but by the time of the report’s publication, no response had been received. The lack of communication has only added to the frustration of the parents, who feel that their children were failed by the system that was supposed to protect them.
The Bigger Picture: Bullying in Schools
This incident sheds light on a larger issue of bullying in schools, where students often feel trapped and powerless. Despite efforts from parents, teachers, and even the students themselves, bullying can sometimes go unnoticed or unaddressed. Many parents, like Mack and Howard, feel that the system isn’t doing enough to stop bullying and keep their children safe.
For many families, the failure to stop bullying leaves them wondering if the school is truly a safe space for their children. While the punishment for the students involved in this fight might be final, the deeper issue of school bullying remains unresolved for many families across the country.
(Source: walb.com)
