Bullying at Frontier points toward frustrations for parents

MOSES LAKE — Harassment or bullying at school often leads to unknown territory for parents, who don’t always know what school officials can do and may not be able to find out what they are doing. School officials can’t always answer parents’ questions, even in the case of recurring incidents. 

Incidents at Frontier Middle School highlight some of the challenges involved for parents and school officials. 

Violent incidents

A Moses Lake School District student in the digital program was assaulted while on the Frontier campus in December 2021 to pick up her sibling. The student was reportedly knocked to the pavement with her head slammed into the sidewalk, according to her mother, who contacted the Columbia Basin Herald when the incident occurred. The girl suffered a black eye and injuries to her head and face, which resulted in an emergency room visit. The mother said she repeatedly contacted Frontier administrators and received minimal response. 

The parents of another student who said their daughter was a target of repeated harassment during the 2022-23 school year said they did not receive adequate support or information from MLSD officials. Eventually, the family moved to a different district.

The tension between the two girls started with verbal aggression and then escalated to physical altercations, according to the girl’s mother. Frontier administrators told the parents their daughter was observed twice hitting another student, but her mother said that was after her daughter was hit. The district says school officials didn’t see the incident that the mother says started the issue. The tension culminated in an incident in the Frontier cafeteria where the mother said her daughter was pushed to the ground.

The alleged victim’s father told the Columbia Basin Herald that his daughter had been “jumped” by her bully along with other girls as the situation evolved.

District officials did not, in the mother’s opinion, adequately respond to the incidents.

“She was sent home for the day,” the mother said of the girl who pushed her daughter to the ground. “And then that was all they ever said.” 

Privacy concerns

Moses Lake School District Executive Director of Secondary Education Triscia Hochstatter said there are rules governing what information can and can’t be given to parents or guardians of students involved in cases of alleged bullying. 

“The parents will find out what happened (and) how their student was involved,” Hochstatter said. “And a lot of times they want to know, ‘What were the consequences given to the other student?’ And they typically know who the other student was. And that, we just can’t share. By law, we just can’t share.”

The parents of the girl who was pushed to the ground filed a police complaint which was investigated, said City Manager Kevin Fuhr, who was Moses Lake Police chief at the time of the incident. The mother said the girl who pushed her daughter returned to school and incidents continued. She enrolled her daughter in online classes, the mother said, but the girl continued to harass her daughter. The situation didn’t remain confined to school grounds and incidents continued after the school year ended. The mother said she contacted law enforcement on multiple occasions, but that didn’t solve the problem.

Legal restrictions

Hochstatter said she understands the frustration of parents who can’t be told what happened to a student who bullied their child.

“If (parents or guardians) perceive that their expectations of what they think should happen to a student, and they’re perceiving that’s not happening, then they often jump to the conclusion that nothing has happened to that student, consequence-wise,” she said. “And all we can do is assure them that, yes, we have followed our policies and procedures, and adequate consequences have been taken.”

The mother of the girl who was reportedly pushed to the cafeteria floor said she also contacted Grant County Juvenile Services, who told her the case involving her daughter and the girl had been deferred.

According to RCW 13.40.127, the state statute associated with the issue, a deferral means the case is continued and doesn’t come to trial. In layman’s terms, the situation is similar to being on probation. The juvenile agrees that the facts included in the police report may be admitted as evidence and the report would be entered and used to support a finding of guilt if the juvenile fails to follow the conditions of supervision. The juvenile acknowledges the consequences of being found guilty and the consequences of an order of disposition. 

A juvenile is eligible for deferral unless the case involves a sexual or violent assault, the juvenile has prior referrals or two or more adjudicated cases, or the juvenile has a prior history that involves a felony. Juveniles who qualify for a deferral are subject to community supervision. Deferral can be revoked if the juvenile does not comply with the conditions of the order. 

The Columbia Basin Herald reached out to Grant County Juvenile Services multiple times to ask what the penalties may be if a child doesn’t comply with a deferral order but no response was received prior to press time.

The mother of the girl in the cafeteria incident said she was contacted by the parents of another alleged victim of harassment from the same perpetrator as her daughter. That incident had occurred a few weeks before the altercation in the cafeteria.

According to the mother of the alleged victim, the girl who pushed her daughter may still be a student at Frontier. Because of privacy laws associated with such issues, it is unknown whether or not the girl is compliant with her deferral order.

Seeking clarity

The district keeps records of reports of bullying, and for the 2022-23 school year, 49 cases were reported in middle schools and high schools. The data presents a challenge of its own, however, Hochstatter said.

“Yes, these are codes for bullying, but do we have consistency among our schools in how we code things?” she said.

Data by campus was not provided and school officials said it did not exist. It was unclear how district-wide data could be created without campus-specific data being used to compile the information.

In an earlier interview Robbie Mason, MLSD executive director of elementary education, said parents should keep talking to school officials if their child is telling them about repeat incidents.

“Sometimes there’s the assumption that we must be aware (bullying) has happened again, and that’s not always the case,” Mason said. 

Parents and guardians who have heard of student misconduct, whatever it is, are encouraged to report it to the school where the incident occurred. District patrons are also encouraged to report incidents they see or hear about on social media. The district has an online reporting system for people who want to remain confidential.

“The message we’d like to get out is, if there’s anything, please report it,” Mason said. “We do want to know; we do want to be involved; and we do want to come to a resolution with any type of situation.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.

Editor’s Note: Names of parents and students were left out of this report to protect the identities of the minors involved. The Columbia Basin Herald has reviewed all of the related documents closely and this report is intended to raise awareness of the issues associated with bullying. 

STOPit

The Moses Lake School District does have a variety of means to report bullying. Students and parents may report incidents of bullying or harassment to staff directly or through the use of forms located at https://bit.ly/NOBULLYMLSD. Anonymous reports may be made online at:https://bit.ly/STOPitMLSD.  

    Buses line up outside Frontier Middle School before the end of the school day. Bullying and harassment present challenges at Frontier, as well as other schools. During an incident in December of 2021 a 13-year-old was reportedly assaulted in front of the bus line while picking up her sibling from the campus. That led to the girl visiting the emergency room for treatment.