ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. — The Principal at Severna Park High School in Maryland sent a letter home to families Monday after being made aware of a video going around showing a student bullying his classmate with disabilities.
Principal Lindsay Abruzzo claims the video of the incident was airdropped around 1:30 p.m. Monday to several students and staff members.
Abruzzo said, "In the video, one of our students is speaking with another student during a lunch period and begins to use language that is beyond inappropriate. The student’s words include a racial epithet and phrases that are belittling and demeaning to a person with special needs. They also imply a threat of harm to the student on the receiving end, who is a student with special needs."
She then went on to call the actions of this student unacceptable, especially in a school setting where part of their mission is to cultivate students who are kind, accepting, and inclusive.
Abruzzo says she has been in contact with the student who is the victim in this case and their family and is continuing to investigate the incident caught on video. She is still working to confirm the identity of the person who took the video and the person who airdropped it. They may be the same person.
"I implore you to talk to your student as soon as possible, both to glean any information that may be helpful to our investigation but more importantly to impart to them that actions such as this are simply not OK. We cannot and will not tolerate such actions and we will take aggressive and appropriate disciplinary action with regard to any student who engages in such activity," said Abruzzo.
Adding, "Put simply, we are better than this."
Principal Abruzzo ended her letter thanking the many students and staff members who made her aware of the situation so quickly. She says their decisive and quick action, as well as their anger at the situation, shows that the behavior shown in the video is not reflective of the school's overall student population.
School counselors and student services team are available for students in need.
Parents are being told to encourage their children to report any situation that makes them feel unsafe to a responsible adult immediately.
Any safety concern can also be reported anonymously to the Safe Schools Maryland Tip Line at 833-MD-B-SAFE. That line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Callers to that line can remain anonymous.
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