The student’s mother had previously complained that her son was being bullied by the administrator, but her concerns were not resolved.
GRAHAM, WA — Josiah Jolie is still reeling from the brutal beating he received at Frontier Middle School in Graham almost three weeks ago.
Josiah said he got into a fight with one of his classmates who bullied him during gym class.
Josiah said he and another boy pushed each other, but the violence escalated when he was pushed to the floor.
“I tried tapping his leg to see if it would work, but it didn’t,” he recalls. “Then he just rolled up and hit him straight in the face while my head was on the ground.
The police report was filed on March 3, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
The blow left Josiah with multiple fractures in his face that required reconstructive surgery to repair.
Josiah’s mother, Monique, was horrified that her son’s injuries were so extensive, but also frustrated with how the school reacted to the incident.
“No one was sitting in the room with him when I got there,” she said. There was no one sitting here to wake me up or fall asleep.”
She also said this wasn’t the first time Josiah had been bullied.
“There was a lot of verbal bullying, but he got pushed down,” said Monique Jolie. “He was pushed over by a bus…we are talking to the bus driver and we are watching what is going on.”
Josiah is on the autism spectrum and needs special attention, but Monique Jolie said despite repeated discussions with administrators, the school failed to pay that attention and the bullying continued. Told.
The Bethel School District sent the following statement to KING 5:
“We want to assure you that all schools in the Bethel School District take student safety seriously, including bullying and fights. Privacy laws prevent us from sharing specific information about incidents. It is important to let you know that we are committed to making Frontier Middle School and all schools safe places to learn, and school administrators will be in contact with the family to check on how Josiah is doing and to provide as much assistance as possible. We provide support.”
But Monique Jolly said the Bethel school district is not safe for students like her son and will send children elsewhere until the bullying is resolved.
“Many parents have reached out to me to express their experiences and concerns about their children. Some people have children who aren’t born,” said Monique Jolie.
Meanwhile, Josiah says he hasn’t been back to school since this happened and doesn’t want to go back.
“I never want to go again. I never want to go to another school again because I don’t want to risk something like this happening again. It could be even worse,” Josiah said.
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