Delanie Marcotte is gaining national attention for going to her school board about bullying and now others are sharing their stories. Katherine Underwood reports.
A New Hampshire fifth grader is sparking a passionate conversation in her town after going to the school board about bullying.
You first saw the video on NBC10 Boston, when Delanie Marcotte sat down at the Timberlane School Board meeting on June 7 to tell board members about her experiences with bullying at Pollard Elementary School.
Since our story aired, NBC10 Boston received several messages from parents who say their children have been bullied, and that some teachers are turning their heads.
"He was saying I hate my life and I want to die," said Sandown, New Hampshire, mom Erin Cardone.
It still makes her cry when she talks about how her son Brayden was bullied two years ago.
"They would call him fat," Cardone told NBC10 Boston on Monday. "The boys would egg him on and say, 'You should kill yourself, you should kill yourself.'"
He was in fourth grade at Pollard Elementary School in Plaistow, the same school where Delanie Marcotte goes.
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"I’ve been threatened to get shot in the head by a AK-47 and buried in my backyard," Marcotte told the Timberlane School Board last week.
So when Cardone heard Delanie’s story, she reached out to NBC10 Boston to tell Brayden’s story.
Cardone kept track of emails she sent school leaders for the entire school year.
"It was just like everything was ignored," Cardone said.
That summer, she had had enough. Cardone went to Superintendent Dr. Earl Metzler and they decided to put Brayden in a different school and hold him back a year.
"He’s good," she said smiling. "He’s going into middle school and he’s excited for that."
Although her little boy suffered bullying for years, Cardone is hopeful that now, with Delanie’s help, they can change the course for another kid.
"I was very, very proud of that little girl," Cardone said. "I think she opened a door for people to speak out and be more aware."
When we brought these concerns to Dr. Metzler on Monday, he responded in an email that said, "We have a process defined by the law and School Board policy. I am monitoring the process and will participate when appropriate. I have nothing more to add at this time."
