A Newmarket family is calling out York Region District School Board for what they said was an unchecked saga of severe bullying.
The Grade 7 French Immersion student recounted a time marred by bullying while attending Mazo De La Roche Public School in Newmarket.
She and her family requested anonymity for fear of retribution, but wanted to share their story to highlight the lasting and damaging impacts of bullying allowed to continue unchecked.
She said she experienced months of harassment and bullying at school and on social media. After she said efforts to address the matter with the school system went unheeded, she took a major step: she changed schools, traumatized due to the unabated bullying.
Her mother recounted what it was like trying to report the incidents.
“In the end, it got me nowhere,” she said. “I just felt very defeated. Very exhausted, reporting incident after incident on a daily (basis).”
The bullying started in Grade 6 and extended into Grade 7, this school year. The family said she was targeted by another student, which led to a long saga of bullying: name-calling, social media harassment on TikTok and Snapchat and more.
“She would start to follow her at recess,” the mother said. “She would walk by and where she was sitting and just start to — she wasn’t exactly talking at you, but toward you — just making rude comments.”
On social media, the language became vulgar, both in school group chats and TikTok. Multiple times, the bully would swear and attack the victim’s appearance, saying nobody liked her, and more recently, a physical threat.
It caused a mental health deterioration, her mother said, as well as difficulties with body image.
“For the first time ever in this school year, her grades were falling, and that had never happened. She wasn’t focused, and she was very distracted, and she was very scared. Her mind was focusing on what’s going to happen next," the mother said.
Outreach attempts with the school did not work, the family said. While the school did attempt to intercede in some ways, the family said it was largely ineffective.
“Teachers, they weren’t supportive, and they didn’t really understand,” the mother said. “I don’t think they realized how bad it was.”
YRDSB corporate communications spokesperson Christina Choo-Hum said the school board is committed to maintaining safe learning and working environments. While the board could not speak on individual students for privacy reasons, she said that all allegations were investigated and addressed “and the school appropriately followed all protocols.”
“To enhance caring and safe school climates, positive student behaviour supports are provided. Inappropriate behaviour is addressed, taking into account mitigating and other factors through a bias-aware progressive discipline model that employs a restorative practice approach,” the board said.
But those methods were not enough, the family said. Ultimately, it caused them to transfer schools to escape the bully.
The family said things at the new school are much better. But they are upset by the loss of opportunity from pulling out of Mazo De La Roche’s French immersion program.
“She feels cheated out of, robbed (of) her French education,” the mother said. “Which she really wanted to have, when she worked so hard to achieve. Just a year-and-a-half from graduating.”
The board said YRDSB does have alternative options for French immersion in Newmarket, and they were offered, along with support for all those affected.
The bullying did not entirely end after the transfer to schools. The family said harassing and attacking social media posts continued from the bully. It ultimately led to them contacting York Regional Police when one of the posts involved a physical threat, which they said ended with a warning to the bully.
The school should have done more to put a real stop to the bullying, the family said, with action not taken to address threatening messages.
“It should just be that simple. Make it stop,” she said. “I feel like they let this go out of hand and out of control.”
