Penn Hills’ bullying code is being questioned by the mother of a teenager with special needs. A video has surfaced showing a Penn Hills student beating and kicking 16-year-old Isaiah Wooding, who suffers from cerebral palsy while others walked by and did nothing.
An angry mother is wondering what does the Penn Hills bullying code say about a disabled teenager being kicked and punched by another student while others laughed?
Last Friday, a very disturbing video surfaced showing Isaiah Wooding, 16, a sophomore at Penn Hills High School in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania walking in the cafeteria when another male student suddenly attacked him. The other teenager violently kicked and punched Wooding in the chest, who lay helplessly on the floor.
As the assault was taking place, other students laughed, and no one tried to help Wooding. Margaret Wooding, Isaiah’s mother, spoke to the media saying that over the years, she has contacted the Penn Hills School District countless times to report students bullying and harassing her son.
The frustrated mom explained that Isaiah, who has cerebral palsy, does not have many friends and often, students will pretend to be his pal to ambush or mock him. After the Christmas holiday, the teen returned to school where someone threw food at him. Mrs. Wooding confessed:
“My son is taunted every day when he is in that school. Isaiah doesn’t really have any friends and he tries to make friends. Kids like that they act like they have the intention of being friends and their intention is really to humiliate him and tease him and not to engage in friendship with him.”
Wooding went on to blast school officials, who failed to call and inform her of the assault. She said on Friday the school left a voicemail saying her son had hit his head, and he was sent home with a note from the nurse saying she examined him for a head injury and provided a list of signs of a possible concussion and no mention of the attack. The mother claimed:
“I want to press charges on the boy who kicked my son in the chest. I also want something done to the one who posted it on Facebook and recorded it. And I want something done so this never happens to anyone’s kid again.”
She added:
“No one from the school called over the weekend to see if Isaiah was OK.”
She took her son to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC where he was examined after he complained of chest pain and headaches. School Board President Denise Graham-Shealy was forced to address the matter after the video went viral, and she explained:
“I am deeply concerned and saddened by what was shown on the video and that the district was investigating… the incident was in the hands of the Penn Hills police and that the district did not expect to release anything more on the matter.”
The safety committee of the Penn Hills School Board met with principals, staff members, and parents to make sure this type of bullying never occurs again. While frustrated by the bullying incident, the school board president was also furious because of some comments she read on social media where Penn Hills students were compared to animals, thugs, and criminals. She slammed those who bashed her school by saying:
“I can tell you we don’t have have animals, we have children. Do we have challenging children? Absolutely. But, show me a district that doesn’t.”
Penn Hills Police Chief Howard Burton issued a statement on the investigation, which read:
“We have to find the timeline, when it did occur, what folks may have been there when it took place, teachers, security guards. The young man is definitely kicked in the chest, knocked to the ground. At this point, it doesn’t look like there are any injuries, but the point is definitely simple assault there.
The mother said she hopes the police will take the matter seriously and make sure her son is never harassed again. The mother confessed:
“I want to press charges on the boy who kicked my son in the chest. I also want something done to the one who posted it on Facebook and recorded it. And I want something done so this never happens to anyone’s kid again.”
She also wants her son’s attacker expelled so that Isaiah can feel safe at school. Using surveillance video from the school, the police have discovered the Penn Hills student had planned the attack, and he will, therefore, face charges for his actions.
I think the mom should push the issue and have the students arrested and sue the school, cause it’s a dame shame a person can be to themselves without others harassing them Lock their asses up, and then go for the parents too if they want to get involved call the NAACP