Schenevus, New York Parents Unite After Gun Incident at School

Some parents of Schenevus Central School students are not happy. Per a Daily Star report, a child in the midst of a mental health crisis brought a gun to school on October 26th. The student has since been arrested and has gone before a youth court judge. The student was also seen for a mental health evaluation.

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In speaking with parents of Schenevus Central School students, one word keeps bubbling to the surface: bullying. According to the parents surveyed, bullying is rampant at the school, with little attention paid to it. They feel that bullying may have actually played into motivating the aforementioned child bringing a weapon to school.

Parents are now taking matters into their own hands in the form of an emergency parent and student meeting dubbed Schenevus Parent Student Unification Meeting and Potluck. The meeting will be held tonight at 6:30 at Schenevus Amvets Post 2752.

I asked meeting organizer Jane Kiep if this meeting was a direct reaction to the gun incident. She replied:

Somewhat. When the gun incident happened, the school posted their only communication with the families of students on the Facebook page. There was no phone call or anything to let us know what had happened. They wouldn’t answer the phone and answer questions and they stonewalled parents completely. In the comment section of the original letter posted on the Schenevus Facebook page there’s a bunch of comments about bullying And the harassment that goes on at school. That really resonated with me because my first grader had been out all week because we were keeping him home until the school came up with a plan to deal with the harassment and hitting he was facing. When I saw other people were going through similar struggle I started messaging them. I don’t really know a lot of people here, but I know common ground when I see it. At the meeting we will have a chance to talk about the issues of communication between the school and parents, Bullying, and the students right to a safe school, according to the NY state Dignity for All Students Act.

Kiep feels that a meeting of unity among students and parents is the first step to quelling some of the issues that students currently face.