Glen Hills on alert for bullying
Middle school training staff after 14-year-old boy commits suicide
Glen Hills Middle School is looking at a number of changes, including increasing its anti-bullying efforts and training staff members in suicide prevention, after one of its seventh-graders took his own life last week.
The death of 14-year-old Quentin Espinoza of Glendale has prompted an outpouring of complaints from parents who say school and district officials do not adequately respond to complaints that their children are bullied or harassed by fellow students.
“Bullying is definitely an issue in the district,” said Jill Landrum, one of many parents who raised concerns during a forum last week to address the school’s response to Quentin’s death.
Parents spoke of their children being called racial slurs and in some cases being physically assaulted. One mother said her son had been bullied two of his three years at the school. Nothing was done, she said, until he was stabbed with a pencil.
“They shouldn’t have to come to school and fight their way through the day,” she said.
The district said it would be re-evaluating its system for addressing bullying
“I believe Quentin is going to help so many.” Quentin Espinoza’s aunt
complaints, including the possibility of having them filed in writing. But Principal Jeff Fleig said no decision has been made. He said the school will begin training on social media safety.
Quentin, who moved with his family from northern Ohio, appears to have been bullied for years, according to a suicide note. And his family says that continued, at school and on social media,
Jessica Rodic
after he enrolled at Glen Hills this year.
Glendale police and the school district are conducting separate investigations into the death.
Fleig and Glendale-River Hills Superintendent Larry Smalley say they have no evidence the teen was bullied, though they concede that the social media screenshot they’ve seen was mean and “highly inappropriate.” That post, dated three weeks ago, Fleig said, told Quentin, “I hope you die.”
The lack of evidence may be attributed to the school’s definition of bullying, which requires a “power differential” between the bully and victim — a standard Fleig acknowledged “is very difficult to determine.”
Fleig said he doesn’t believe Glen Hills’ problems are any worse than those at other schools. And he said it’s the parents’ job, not the school’s, to police their children’s social media accounts.
“What goes on outside of here is not something we can police unless it’s a direct threat to the school,” Fleig told the 100 or more parents gathered for the forum. “I need you to monitor your child’s social media account . ... If your child is sleeping with their phone in their room, that’s a problem.”
At least two of Quentin’s classmates have stated on social media that they told two Glen Hills staff members that the child planned to commit suicide — an assertion Fleig and Smalley vehemently deny.
“No way. I would find that very difficult to believe,” said Fleig.
The children’s statements appear in an Instagram thread that was shared with Quentin’s parents after his death.
The mother of one of the children who said they alerted staff confirmed his account and said she believes him. The father of the other child declined to comment, saying he was “not at liberty to discuss it.”
Dozens of Quentin’s classmates said their goodbyes at a memorial for the teen late last week, sharing stories of their brief time with him. A photo posted on the family’s Gofundme.com page shows them gathered at a north side funeral home.
Quentin’s family has said it is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and kindness in the wake of his death. Family members said they would use the proceeds from the page — more than $15,000 as of Sunday — to educate people about bullying and the devastating effects it can have on children.
“I believe Quentin is going to help so many,” his aunt, Jessica Rodic, said in an email. “And I’ll be a lifelong advocate to the cause.”