The parent of a Davis Elementary School second-grader filed a complaint with the New Rochelle Police Department over a harassment and bullying incident at the school alleging that the building principal, William E. Harrell, refused to speak with him about the incident or even acknowledge the incident had occurred. The complaint also alleges that when the sister of the victim sought to contact her father to notify him of the incident and get her sister help she was refused. The complaint also says that the child was not provided medical attention following the incident.
The incident was instigated by two children, a boy and a girl, either cousins or siblings, who have known bullying issues, according to the report. The girl is a fifth-grader who is in the same homeroom class as the sister of the victim.
During lunch break on September 14th, according to the police report, the second-grader was harassed, placed in a head lock, taken to the ground, and her air supply cut off in assault by the boy bully. While the victim was held down, the fifth-grade girl bully kicked and punched the second-grader. The victim attempted to free herself but was unable do so. Several other students intervened to restrain the assailants.
While this was going on, the complaint alleges, the victim attempted to get adult assistance from a school monitor named Mrs. Jackson but Mrs. Jackson, apparently related to the suspects, took no action, looking the other way.
After the girl broke free, the two assailants continued to be verbally and physically threatening, cursing and yelling that this was not over and that the assaults would continue later.
The victim’s father learned of the incident when he went to pick up his children from school. He responded by going to the main office to speak with Principal William Harold. The father told police that Harold refused to speak to with him or even acknowledge that an incident occurred.
The father then spoke to Mrs. Walker, the homeroom teacher for the two fifth grade girls, the older sister of the victim and the girl bully. Walker acknowledged that there is a known, common knowledge bullying issue involving the two siblings/cousins. Mrs. Walker told the father that the Principal and Administration will not acknowledge or address the known issue, according to the police report.
The sister of the victim attempted to go to the main office to contact her father to tell him what happened and get help for her sister but she was refused. She was not allowed by school aides to contact her father and, according to the report, no adult staff member attempted to provide any medical attention to the victim.
According to police records obtained by Talk of the Sound, a youth officer from the New Rochelle Police Department conducted a follow up visit two weeks later. Principal Harrell was interviewed by the police and stated that a confrontation did occur between two second grade students. Harrell acknowledge the boy bully was the instigator. The same officer interviewed Mrs. Walker who said the two girls are not friends and are confrontational towards each other. Aware of the incident she has separated two girls as much as possible.
Several days later, on September 29th, the youth officer informed the father that no charges could be filed due to the age of the children involved and that the incident was a violation.
The New Rochelle Police Department provided a redacted version of the police report. Talk of the Sound obtained the names of the parties involved but is withholding them due to the age of the children involved. Note that the last name of David Principal William E. Harrell is spelled “Harold” in error.
Incident Report: HARASSMENT
COMP appeared at HQ with his two daughters ______ and _____ to document a physical harassment.COMP advised his two daughters attend Davis Elementary School located 80 Iselin Drive, New Rochelle, NY. COMP advised that there is a known “bullying issue, that is common knowledge among the staff, involving the _______ siblings.
COMP advised that today during his children’s lunch break, his daughter _______ was physically harassed by _______ in the form of being placed in a head lock, taken to the ground, and her air supply cut off during this physical contact. COMP advised that his daughter was kicked and punched while on the ground and in the head lock. _______ was attempting to break free and could not. According to the COMP it took several other students to restrain and intervene. _______ advised that she attempted to get adult assistance from a school monitor named Mrs. Jackson, however Mrs Jackson is apparently related to the suspects and took no action, looking the other way.
COMP advised that _______ relayed that while ________ was being physically harassed, _______ the sister was verbally and physically threatening _______ advised that _______ got into her personal space and was cursing and yelling at _______ physically intimidating her by encroaching on her personal space and standing over _____ when the physical confrontation was over, the two siblings continued to verbally antagonize _______ and continued to state that this rivalry was not over, and continued to threaten this type of fighting was going to continue.
COMP advised that upon picking up his children they relayed the days events with this.
COMP responded to the main office to speak with Principal Harold. According to the COMP Principal Harold refused to speak to the COMP about the incident, and refused to acknowledge that a fight or bully motivated incident occurred. COMP advised the secretary in the office helped facilitate COMP speaking with teacher Mrs Walker.
COMP advised upon speaking to Mrs Walker she was far more helpful in that Mrs Walker acknowledged that there is a known, common knowledge bullying issue involving the two _______ siblings, and further Mrs. Walker advised that the Principal and Administration will not acknowledge or address the known issue.
Further _______ advised during my interview at HQ that she attempted to go to the main office to contact her father, COMP, to advise of the incident and get her sister help, she was refused and denied contacting her father by the school aides that were working. further, according to COMP at no time did any adult staff member who was aware of the incident attempt provide any medical attention for _______.
COMP wishes to pursue the matter, and I request a follow up by a juvenile officer.
Review Subject: HARASSMENT FOLLOW UP
On 28 Sep 11, I responded to incident location on a follow up of harassment, possible bullying. Upon arrival I interviewed PI/Harrell, school principal. PI/Harrell stated that a confrontation did occur between two second grade students _______ and _______. PI/Harrell was uncertain of the extent of the harassment but that _______ was the instigator and is a child with _______. I was advised that _______.
I interviewed PI/Walker, homeroom teacher of both _______ and _______, who are in the fifth grade.
PI/Walker stated that the two girls are not friends and are confrontational towards each other. She was aware of this incident and has separated two girls as much as possible.
On 29 Sep 11, I contacted _______ and advised him I had spoken to PI/Harrell. I also advised him that _______. I also advised him that no charges could be filed due to the age of the child and the incident being a violation. I suggested he contact PI/Harrell and request if the two fifth grade students could be placed into different homerooms. HQ advised. Case closed.
Mr. Harrell
Mr. Harrell is a horrible principal and is doing a disservice to the district. I know from many cases of others (including myself) being shut down from Mr. Harrell.
There was an incident when a girl broke her arm a few years ago by another student “running her down” and he wouldn’t even talk to the parent!
It is time he retire. As a matter of fact, it was time many years ago.
Make sure you stay on top of this case. So, he can’t keep getting away with his BS!
How true! I beleive the
How true! I beleive the ass’t princ. really runs the show there.
That being said, Harrell must being doing something right as Davis continuously gets the highest grades/scores/marks out of all the elementary schools in NR. Breaking the grades out for language arts and math is only done at Davis and I find it to be extremely beneficial for my kids. I’m more upset that they don’t start the math groupings until 3rd grade.
Without knowing the names its hard to say what went on, but parents can sometimes overreact & blow things out of proportion & if the Dad is protective maybe he’s complained about other things as well & was known to the office staff as a complainer so he wasn’t taken as seriously as he should have at first. Harrell did acknowledge the incident in the police report.
There are always 2 sides to the story & just because someone gets arrested (not this case) doesn’t mean they’re guilty. Innocent people are arrested everyday and then have to prove their innocence to the world. It’s not fair but that’s how it works.
To Fifth Ave Guy
I’m not sure what you are talking about…you must be blind. Mr. Harrell is a total waist to that school because he won’t talk to parents AT ALL. This is not an individual case…I’ve seen Mr. Harrell in action along with his office staff. They score high because people can afford to pay for Tutors.
Somebody gave him tenure.
Somebody gave him tenure. That’s what our school unions are about. I wasn’t me. But I’m sure he has it and will retire when he wants to.
If you have concerns, there are others at Davis (actually all the schools) who will listen & get results for you. It doesn’t always have to be the principal that everyone runs to. I’m sure he’s a busy guy or at least he likes to think so besides he’s administration & that’s what administrators do: dodge questions & collect a paycheck while awaiting their pension. They serve no real other purpose but are “must haves” in NR.
It really is amazing how
It really is amazing how people in New Rochelle, especially those in the North End, assume that Davis always scores the highest of all the New Rochelle elementary schools. These people couldn’t be more wrong. i am proud to shout that Columbus Elementary scored the highest mathamatics scores of all the elementary schools.
Dr. Joseph, principal of Columbus Elementary School deserves recognition along with his staff. Dr. Joseph is a man that knows how to run a school. He understands the importance of a well rounded cariculum. Dr. Joseph is what all New Rochelle principals should be modeled after. All others should learn from him.
Dr. Joseph’s Custodian
omg are you serious about dr joseph the so called principal of columbus school? since the day he walked into that school on washington ave he has been the biggest harasser of teachers and staff the new rochelle school distric has ever seen. did you know he once had a custodian by the name of ronald walters demoted because mr walters wouldnt make dr joe a pot of coffee. and isint it true that good old dr joseph was under investigation by the westchers DA office because of some type of compter scam he had going on? in fact dr joseph cashed a check but then said he didnt recall doing so. the school district wants to forget about that i wonder why? did you also know that just recently an employee on the custodial staff caught another custodian leaving a classroom very early in the morning with a former employee and the poor guy that happened to witness this was punished with a transfer out of the school not the guy with the woman in the class room you can also thank dr joesph for that as well and because of it 3 other innocent custodians had to also be transfered so please dont tell me about dr joseph and the so called tight ship that he runs i feel sorry for the teachers that have to put up with his crap. nothings tight in that school anymore dr joe and his custodial staff are running around as loose as a goose and getting away with all of it. and talk about bullying dr joe wrote the book on how to be a bully just ask john gallheger from service master dr joe says jump and john says how high. this is the first you all have ever heard from THE SWEEPER but it wont be the last.
These are just excuses…
“Without knowing the names its hard to say what went on”
I know the names. I did the research into this story. I published a month after it happened because it took that long to get all the facts in order and get the documentation. If you don’t accept that I did my homework on this story then there is little point of trying to convince you otherwise but for the rest of the readers let me just say that we have two adults who are part of the record who are confirming that there are known issues with the two bullies involved.
“parents can sometimes overreact & blow things out of proportion”
You have perfectly summed up that attitude of the school district to any interaction with a parent (let me say a “non-connected parent). Always start from the assumption the parent is not telling the truth, do what you can to discount the information provided and, if the parent persists, make the parent the issue.
“maybe he’s complained about other things as well & was known to the office staff as a complainer so he wasn’t taken as seriously”
Again, blame the parent, right? Perhaps you might consider that the incident occurred on September 14, 2011. The school year began on September 7th. This family just moved to New Rochelle and is new to the district. This parent was not known at all. Even if the parent were known to the office staff as “a complainer” how does that make a difference? School staff should be taking ANY allegation of violence against a child seriously, more so the allegations that staff did not intervene, refused medical care, etc. In business, customers who complain are considered sources of valuable information; they are treated as a form of “market intelligence”, a resource. Any person who takes the time to visit an office or write a letter or make a phone call should be treated as a canary in a coal mine, an early warning system of problems. In New Rochelle, a parent with a complaint is treated as a nuisance to be avoided and certainly not as a “customer”.
“Harrell did acknowledge the incident in the police report.”
No, he did not.
Mr. Harrell did not acknowledge “the” incident. He acknowledged “an” incident. What he acknowledged, according to the police report, is that there had been an altercation “between” two second graders.
This reminds me quite clearly of how New Rochelle High School Principal Don Conetta responded when my son was jumped from behind by three students in the hallway. My son and one of the students were given 5 days suspensions for “fighting”. Only after I pressed the issue very hard did Conetta change his story to say that after a review of the video tape he could confirm that my son’s account was accurate. The three students were then suspended and my son’s record expunged.
What the parent alleged is that his 7-year old daughter was assaulted by two students who choked her, beat her, kicked her and threatened her — all while an adult relative of the two bullies stood by and did nothing.
Do you see a difference?
Harrell did not acknowledge that this was an assault, that the two bullies threatened to continue their attacks at a later time, that there is a know issue with the two bullies, that a school district employee failed to intervene, etc.
Two of my children attended Davis School. I never had a problem with Bill Harrell and when there was one problem with a teacher at the school he met with me and my wife and the issue was resolved. I do know that Harrell insulates himself from parents — he has a wall of office staff who get between him and parents — but the one time I requested a meeting I got one. Granted, my wife was a teacher in the district, Linda Kelly was running the schools, and I was not, at the time, on the “bad list” but he did meet with me and my wife and addressed our concerns.
WIth that said, my concern about this report, setting aside my concern for the victims, is that school staff are alleged to have refused to intervene when a child was down on the ground being kicked and beaten and that other staff are alleged to have refused medical treatment and not informed the parents. If this occurred and Harrell is attempting to cover it up, that is a VERY serious charge.
What makes this case stand out is that the parent filed a complaint with the police. When I heard that my immediate reaction was that the district would be coming down on this parent like a ton of bricks. The goal of the administration will now be to attack this person, to demonize them, to discredit them. They will be supported in doing that by many parents at Davis who very much need to believe that Davis is a great school and that any problems are the fault of the parents or their kids.
I would remind readers of the Trinity bullying case at the very end of last school year. The family went public in that case with the grandmother, former New York City councilperson Maria Baez holding a press conference. So what happened? Ms. Baez spoke at the recent BoE meeting held at Trinity school; she complained that since the school year began “no one will talk to us”. As I told Ms. Baez when she went public with her complaints “you just became the problem, not the principal, not the bully, but you”.
There are two things for certain: (1) this matter should be thoroughly investigated; (2) the Board of Education will never allow that to happen.
The NRPD has closed the case so that’s that. Another victory for bullies and incompetent staff.
My point about Princ. Harrell
My point about Princ. Harrell is that the school he’s in charge of gets the best results and its not just coincidence.
Rag on him all you want, but the facts are the facts with regard to the schools performance.
Whatever happened in the cafeteria on 9/14 must of ended quickly as my 2nd grader didn’t see or hear anything at all, but I do feel for the father of these kids. You say he’s new to town and this is no way to be welcomed!
Good point and very true.
Good point and very true. But when it comes to the NR school district for example when Ricky Dibunno got caught stealing a case of toilet paper he was arrested by the NRPD because he was caught red handed. The police watched him put it in the trunk of his car, those charges did stick because he admitted and plead guilty in NR city court and interesting enough when Mr Cox made his naughty list recently he forgot to mention Ricky Dibunno the painter and ex custodian of Webster School, the toilet paper kleptomaniac.
Ricky Dibunno
Ricky the so called painter, how come he didn’t get fired long ago for stealing?
This father must FIGHT for the lives of his children…
I advise the father to contact the NYS Attorney General’s Office along with Westchester County District Attorney’s Office to have formal charges pressed against Principle Harrell, Mrs. Jackson, Davis School Administrator who refused to help, along with the school district and Board of Education for knowingly allowing constant student on student bullying and harassment and not taking any actions to eradicate constant student on student bullying and harassment issues at hand.
The father can also contact support groups dedicated to fighting school districts for allowing such heinous acts of violence to go unpunished.
Stopbullying.gov
Antibullying.com
Bullypolice.org
These are just a few to start.
This father must FIGHT for the lives of his children, because the school district won’t.