LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fionna McCoy threatened to sue Tippecanoe schools over allegations that Wea Ridge Elementary School failed to follow protocols after her child was injured at school.
McCoy partnered with United as One, an advocacy group out of South Bend, Indiana, in hopes of having her concerns heard by the Tippecanoe School Corp.
At a press event Monday morning outside of Wea Ridge Elementary, McCoy claimed her son was stabbed at school with a pencil in the arm by another student on May 15.
Her son’s teacher did not report the stabbing to school administrators and failed to contact McCoy about the incident after her child informed the teacher, McCoy said.
Sue Scott, TSC director of communication, said Principal Tami Jacobs met with McCoy in person on Thursday — the day after the first-grader was stab. Assistant Principal Joshua Frauhiger, followed up with call to McCoy on Thursday.
McCoy learned her son had been stabbed when he returned home from school at 4 p.m., at which point she took him to urgent care to be checked.
Jacobs sent a letter to Wea Ridge families on Monday afternoon.
“I wanted to touch base with you after allegations were made regarding a student incident last week,” Jacobs wrote. “A group called United as One has made a social media post and talked to local news media misrepresenting the facts.
“The misinformation and allegations being made about what happened at our school are very disturbing and I wish I could share more information with you,” Jacobs wrote. “As a school, we are restricted by federal privacy laws and cannot share details because she has threatened a lawsuit.
“Please know that the TSC takes all matters of student safety and well-being seriously.”
McCoy, her family, and Vernado Malone, the activist from the United as One, believe school protocols were not followed because of her son’s skin color.
Scott said, “The TSC takes all matters of student safety and well-being seriously.
“It’s unfortunate that this group is misrepresenting the facts about what occurred at Wea Ridge Elementary School.
“Because the group has threatened to file a lawsuit against the school, we are unable to provide additional information about this incident,” Scott wrote.
Correspondence shared with the Journal & Courier indicates McCoy emailed the teacher after the incident.
The teacher replied to her email the following day, explaining that although they had been informed about the incident, they did not send the student to the nurse’s office because the child didn’t seem bothered by the injury.
The teacher then explained that they had informed the office about the incident and that the school administration would follow up with McCoy.
McCoy claimed that she made several attempts to contact school administrators but was not able to get ahold of anyone until Monday morning — after she and the United as One held an event on the sidewalk in front of the school.
Before McCoy’s news conference Monday morning, the Journal and Courier checked with the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office, asking if McCoy had filed a police report. As of 10:15 a.m. Monday, no report had been filed.
When the Journal & Courier arrived at the school Monday morning, the Wea Ridge Elementary School resource office was taking a police report of the incident from McCoy.
“(This) would have been avoided,” McCoy said. “I would not have went through none of this if they would have got in contact with me the first day,” McCoy said.
McCoy and United as One called upon the school district to put the teacher on administrative leave and investigate the pencil stabbing, including why it was not reported to the administrators or McCoy.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Mother threatens to sue after her son is stabbed with pencil at school
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