Students, staff and parents agree: bullying is a problem in Henrico schools

Bullying is one of the top issues for parents, students and staff in Henrico Schools, according to the results of the HCPS 2024 School Survey conducted in February.

About half of participants reported a verbal, social, physical or cyberbullying problem at their school. In total, 76% of the student population completed the survey along with 88% of school-level staff and 18% of HCPS families. All survey responses were anonymous.

Verbal and social bullying are the most frequent types of bullying according to survey responses. Among the students surveyed, which included third through 12th graders, about two-thirds said that verbal bullying and social bullying were problems at their schools, while a little less than 50% of both families and staff said the same.

Bullying can get physical, too; 50% of students and about 30% of families and staff reported a physical bullying problem at their school. A little less than 50% of students also reported a cyberbullying problem, while 43% of staff and 30% of families said the same.

But the majority of students and staff still reported that their school takes a firm anti-bullying stance, according to HCPS Director of Assessment, Research and Evaluation Tiffany Hinton. About 80% of students said they felt they could rely on adults in their schools to address bullying issues.

“Bullying remains a concern, with reports of physical, verbal, social and cyber bullying persisting across all [survey] groups,” Hinton said. “But the survey highlighted strong points, such as our clear anti-bullying stance.”

But regardless of schools’ intolerance for bullying, it is clear that bullying remains a significant issue across HCPS schools, said Henrico School Board member Madison Irving (Three Chopt District).

“All groups are concerned about bullying,” he said. “So we have an intolerance for it, but I guess I take it that it’s still happening to such a degree that people are very worried about it.”

With the parent response rate only at 18%, the survey responses also were not entirely representative of families’ concerns, Irving said, with the possibility that significantly more or less parents could be concerned with bullying.

HCPS leaders are currently looking over survey results, which were reported directly to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium and sent in summary form to HCPS. Using survey feedback, HCPS leaders will design school quality plans for each school principal before the 2024-2025 school year to identify needed improvements, according to Hinton.

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Several parents also have brought up bullying issues to the school board in recent months. Jen Tucker, who has a daughter at Pocahontas Middle School, spoke at the board’s public forum in April about the “pervasive bullying” occurring at the school.

“The relationship between student and teacher is solid. Public areas of the school are the problem – bathrooms, hallways, pep rally, cafeteria, etc.,” she said. “Students feel as though admin and counseling either aren’t open to listening or simply don’t care to listen. . . The situation is getting worse each semester.”

Her husband, Richard Tucker, also spoke to the board about the verbal and physical bullying their daughter and her friends experienced repeatedly from a group of boys in the cafeteria. Tucker said there was one incident in which the boys also shouted insults such as “c***” and “b****” at the girls.

“These young men have been taunting these girls all year long, throwing food at them, ordering them to move,” he said. “This incident with the c-word being used towards our children has been building all year, this isn’t something new.”

Tucker said that when he met with administrators, they said they were unaware of the bullying that had been occuring. He and several other parents signed a letter calling for Pocahontas administration to address the school’s ongoing bullying problem, which the parents sent to the school board.

Bullying also is an issue at the elementary level. Tina Howell, an HCPS school security officer and the parent of two children at Greenwood Elementary School, said her oldest daughter had been bullied for three out of the four years she attended the school, including being physically assaulted.

“There was a child who was hitting and kicking my daughter, taking things from her lunch, threatening that if she did not bring doubles of things, she would hurt her,” Howell said to the school board at a public forum. “The child then began to bring stuffed animals and other treats, offering them to children and saying if you would hit, kick or lick my child, I will give them to you.”

Howell said that despite the watchful eye of her daughter’s teacher, the bullying continued outside the classroom with administration failing to address the problem.

“No matter how many times it was brought to the attention of staff and administration, nothing ever changed,” she said.

Amerlynn Ruth, whose son attends Charles M. Johnson Elementary School, said that the verbal bullying her son experienced – name calling, mocking his hair and clothes – eventually escalated to physical bullying such as pushing, tripping, hitting and kicking.

Ruth met with school administrators after an incident in which two students physically assaulted her son in the bathroom but said that the two students were not punished and instead, her son’s class schedule was changed.

“The aggressors were never suspended, not even in-school suspension,” she said at a school board public forum. “My child was forced to sit with his attackers and expected to act as if all is fine and well. After switching his class to ensure my child’s safety, he still doesn’t feel safe at school because this child now rides his bus.”

School board members did not publicly respond to the parents who spoke out at the public forums but did have an HCPS staff member privately follow up, which is the board’s policy for in-person public forums.

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In addition to bullying concerns, Hinton said that HCPS leaders would aim to address other staff, family, and student feedback through the school quality plans.

Other staff concerns included issues of student misconduct, students’ lack of respect for adults or other students in the building, and inconsistent enforcement of behavioral rules.

About one-third of staffers reported they felt that students do not show respect to adults in their schools and that students are unable to peacefully resolve conflicts. About 40% of staff also reported that behavioral rules were not consistently enforced for all students across all schools.

“Staff feedback suggests that behavior rules could be applied more consistently and conflict resolution support among students may be needed,” Hinton said. “Respect among students is another concern, with both students and staff noting a need for improved respect for adults and between students themselves, echoing sentiments from the previous year.”

Results from the HCPS survey also showed that many students, about 40%, feel that their school does not prioritize their mental health. HCPS mental health providers have seen a recent rise in student mental health struggles, with a 42% increase in the number of suicide-risk screenings completed for students in the past three years.

HCPS’ new mental health program Henrico CARES, which will fund more school-based mental health professionals starting in 2024-2025, is a direct response to this increase, HCPS Superintendent Amy Cashwell said. HCPS has also added more school counselors and support staff in recent years.

“This is an area we hear about frequently, not just from students but from our staff and our families,” Cashwell said. “So Henrico CARES is certainly in response to that growing need, but we’ve also added school counselors across our schools to decrease ratios of student to counselor. . . as well as other support staff like psychologists and social workers.”

But some parents feel that more counselors and mental health staff isn’t enough. Jordan Karim, whose Pocahontas Middle daughter has faced verbal and physical bullying, said he wants administrators to be stricter on bullies and more responsive to bullying victims.

“I’ve had a student at Pocahontas for nine years running, and that school used to be a place where bullying was taken seriously, where the victims were empathized with and protected, and where students could learn in a safe environment,” he said. “I hope that we can deal with the administrators who have allowed the school to deteriorate to the place where it is today. I want them held accountable.”

Richard Tucker said he also wants school administrators to take bullying victims and their concerns more seriously. He read a text to the school board that he had received from his daughter, in which she discussed the toll her bullying had taken on her.

“‘I feel so helpless. I feel they’re not listening to me and that my word doesn’t matter,’” Tucker read aloud. “Please,” he said, “listen to my daughter.”

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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.