Worried parents gathered Tuesday to talk about a troubling start to the school year in Front Royal, Virginia. At least one middle schooler landed in an emergency room, and there are concerns about other discipline issues, especially at Skyline Middle School.
Virginia Cram says her son Aidan now faces years of dental repair after he was injured at school.
The family's kitchen is well-stocked with all the ingredients needed for a liquid diet. That’s because it’s all her 12-year-old son can eat after he was violently punched by a student in gym class at Skyline. His jaw was broken, and two teeth were knocked out.
His mom has watched video of the attack. She says the other student grabbed her son, pushing him backwards in a line.
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"Aidan tried to get arms off of him, and then the student grabbed my son by the sweatshirt and punched him with the other hand," Cram said.
But it was also how the school handled the attack that drew her to a recent school board meeting to sound an alarm, she said.
The school did not call 911, she said.
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"If the school nurse thought that Aidan's jaw had been broken, why didn’t Skyline call 911?" Cram asked at a school board meeting last month.
On Aug. 24, the day of the attack, Cram and her husband received a voicemail telling them to go to the school, with no explanation given, she said. It wasn’t until she got there that she learned how badly Aidan was injured, and she was the one who rushed him to the hospital.
"In 40 days since the assault, the school has not acknowledged their wrongs," she said. "They have taken no accountability."
News4 called and emailed the superintendent's office, but we have not yet heard back.
The kids need rehabilitation. They need help. Even the boy who assaulted my son, I would like to see him get help. It’s our job as a community to raise good people.
Virginia Cram
Cram says her son is still getting homebound instruction while he's recovering. She says that teacher has been a bright spot in a dark time for the family.
The boy who injured her son returned to school after a two-week suspension, she said.
Cram and other parents publicly voiced their concerns about student discipline at a school board meeting last month, prompting some school board members to visit the school.
Warren County school board member Melanie Salins said she was shocked by what she witnessed there. She says she saw a student cursing and threatening a teacher, and students refusing to participate in gym class.
"I walked past one classroom, and the teacher was literally crying in the middle of class," Salins said. "This is not OK, and until we are willing to identify and express and admit how not OK this is, we have no hope in fixing this."
Skyline Middle School has made a few changes in response to the criticism, including the way tardy passes are handled to keep the halls more clear of students. In addition, parents now are getting notifications about some of the incidents at the school.
"I heard we are moving in the right direction from the people I spoke with," school board member Andrea Lo said.
Cram says she believes the boy who hurt her son should have faced stiffer punishment, but she says the school district also needs to do more to help violent and misbehaving students.
"The kids need rehabilitation. They need help," she said. "Even the boy who assaulted my son, I would like to see him get help. It’s our job as a community to raise good people."
She says she'll keep pushing until she believes her children and others can once again be safe at school.
