Steff Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Student Whose Hair Set Afire Told To Stay Home Alleged Attacker Remains In School POSTED: 4:42 p.m. EDT May 26, 2004 UPDATED: 5:19 p.m. EDT May 26, 2004 DENVER -- A 13-year-old Denver girl said she was threatened with a knife at her middle school and her hair was set on fire, yet she was the one who was told to stay home for the remainder of the school year while her alleged attacker wasn't suspended or even investigated. Courtney Glowczewski has a small right arm and leg because of cerebral palsy, a disability that her teachers say has not kept her from working hard in school and being a good student. "I do really good in my classes. My teachers tell me, 'Good job,' and, 'You're doing very good,' and 'Excellent girl,'" said Glowczewski. But her physical appearance has made her a target of taunting and of physical attack, which she said has never been addressed by the administration at Martin Luther King Middle School. Last week, she said the bullying got worse when she said she was threatened and assaulted by a seventh-grade boy. "He pulled out a knife, a silver knife, a pocket knife, and then he said 'What!?' So I was scared and didn't know what to do," said Glowczewski. As she walked to her seat she smelled smoke and one of her classmates was patting her hard on the back. "I looked and there was a black spot on the back of my shirt. And then I saw some black hair falling from my hair," said Glowczewski. Her hair was on fire and the other student said that she was trying to help put it out. Her mother, Sherrie, was called to school when her daughter reported the incident to the assistant principal. Sherrie Glowczewski was outraged when she was told by the administration at Martin Luther King that her daughter didn't need to come back and not to worry about the tests. "I just wanted to go to a school that doesn't make fun of me. I wanted to be treated with respect," Glowczewski said, crying. Meanwhile, her mother has made repeated phone calls to the assistant principal. "I have no idea what they've done. That's why I want to speak to her. I want to know what happened to (the bullying suspect) and what's going on in that school," said Sherrie Glowczewski. KMGH-TV discovered that while Glowczewski was sent home, her alleged attacker is still in school, even though administrators confirmed he had a knife. The principal has now admitted her staff did not call police, did not interview potential witnesses and did not conduct a proper investigation. "He shouldn't come back in school. I should be in school taking my education and it's not fair," said Glowczewski. The interim principal at Martin Luther King Middle School declined an on-camera interview, but said her staff made serious mistakes in this case and that she will offer Glowczewski and her family a summer school program and transportation. Meanwhile, both Mark Stevens, the spokesman for Denver Public Schools, and the superintendent declined to discuss the case or DPS policy for dealing with such issues. http://www.newsnet5.com/news/3349955/detail.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Damn. The victim gets summer school as a "make-good"????? That principal needs to be banished from education forever. What a horrible, horrible way to handle that situation. Completely backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hmm I wonder if she goes to the University of Colorado? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldmember Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 The interim principal at Martin Luther King Middle School declined an on-camera interview, but said her staff made serious mistakes in this case and that she will offer Glowczewski and her family a summer school program and transportation. :fyou :puke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelasDaddy0427 Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 Is that a real story? That is so unbelievable it has to be made up. I hope that poor girl sues that principal for a million dollars... they also need to serve jail time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 What happened to the zero tolerance laws? The kid must be a 6'1" three sport stud. I just read that and wonder either how can anyone be that stupid, or we aren't reading the whole story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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