ROCHESTER, Due north.Y. (WROC) — Controversy continued Tuesday at the Waterloo Central School District following an insensitive comment that was allegedly made by a staff member.

Waterloo students tell News viii that the comment made lite of suicide, but months after an surface area sixth grader took his own life.

Giovanni James Bourne, Gio, was just shy of his 12th birthday when he died by suicide last June.

"This is the most difficult thing I have ever been through … my whole family unit has always been through," said Angelicia Smith, Gio'southward mother.

"From the outside in it looks like I'm actually dauntless and I desire to just… I want to be very articulate: I'grand not always dauntless. I have my moments when I break downwardly and it's okay to practise that. And I want anybody to know that is okay to intermission down. Yous don't accept to e'er look from the exterior, like you're brave and taking everything with stride," Smith said while talking well-nigh Gio'south story.

Smith said her 11-year-former was an "extremely intelligent" immature boy who ever talked about space and math. But she said he was likewise very active and the pandemic was difficult for him.

In belatedly June, around 12:30 in the afternoon, Smith and her daughter found Gio. She said leading up to his death, he had been bullied past kids over social media.

"There was i a few incidences where somebody told him to go kill himself over the telephone. During his game, playing his game… the aforementioned thing. Just a ton of cyber bullying that was going on, y'all know, and so unfortunately, it wasn't in the actual school, only still with school students," Smith said.

Since Gio'south death, some students and parents say non enough has been washed by the school district to address bullying. Just last week, a staff member was criticized for allegedly making insensitive comments regarding suicide.

Smith said her girl called her to tell her.

"She called me very upset, telling me that a teacher was making a quote unquote, 'joke.' That if you're feeling suicidal… just swallow a cookie and everything will be OK," Smith said. "My heart dropped. I had to pull my machine over and kind of bargain with the feelings that I was feeling at the moment."

Smith went to high school to choice upwardly her girl and she recorded her interaction over Facebook live. The video ended up going viral.

Following the video and the alleged comment that was made by a staff fellow member, hundreds of parents and students protested outside of the high school Fri. They demanded the commune does more and called on the staff member to resign.

Senior student Colby Tears was one of the students who planned the gathering.

"Nosotros demand change in our schools, jokes like suicide shouldn't be even accepted in schoolhouse… at that place shouldn't even exist any jokes about suicide," Tears said. "We wanted our message to come up beyond. We fabricated sure that when we met in the morning we told everyone to remain peaceful, that we weren't doing this just for ourselves. We were doing this for everyone like Gio, that the bullying needs to stop."

Then on Mon, Tears said he and about xxx other students held an in-school, silent protestation.

"Nosotros sabbatum in the main entrance hall, right in front of the school, and we all only huddled. We stayed together, we linked arms. Right after the forenoon announcements, the primary, Miss. Madonna, came out and basically told us that she likes that we were doing a sit-in, but that information technology wasn't the time or place to do it. That if she wanted if we wanted to practise a sit-in, that nosotros could practice 1 during lunch," Smith said.

"We all looked around each other and nosotros simply looked back at her and nosotros stayed silent. We sat there. She told us that if nosotros proceed to stay there and we didn't go to class, that she would start calling parents and that we would get suspended. Again, we all looked at each other and we all agreed, virtually of united states agreed, on that nosotros were OK with being suspended," he said.

Tears said he and many other students were suspended because of this protest. Tears was suspended for v days, just he still doesn't plan on backing down.

"We are going to demand modify. And we're going to continue until change has been brought most," Tears said.

Parents of students were likewise suspended from commune grounds following Friday's protest. Smith said she can't go back to the school until June, which is hard because she has a daughter still attending class there.

According to a annotation on Waterloo Cardinal School Commune'southward website, parents have been suspended because the protest got out of mitt:

"Friday's protest acquired a pregnant disruption to schoolhouse activities and cannot recur," the district note said. "The protest went on for several hours and acquired substantial fearfulness to the schoolhouse community. Students shouted obscenities at the administrators who were exterior supervising them. Students marched around the high schoolhouse and middle school campus pounding on windows and shouting, causing a substantial disruption to the instruction that was going on in the building. Students inside the school who were not protesting outside or who came inside because they were made to feel uncomfortable with the tone the protestation took, shared with teachers they were being berated and bullied by the pupil protestors outside of school. Many of these students expressed business organization nigh returning to school on Monday to face up these classmates."

Yet, Smith and Tears both say the protestation was peaceful.

"I do believe that there was an isolated incident and that person was told to stop and they did immediately. You're e'er going to have someone in the crowd that'due south not going to follow what they're supposed to exercise. That's normal. That'south normal beliefs, but to take ane person and claim that it was anybody, that'south just a lie," Smith said.

After seeing what many students have done to accolade Gio, Smith says she is proud. However, she also said that this shows her son is not the only one who is experiencing forms of bullying.

"I don't blame the school completely. Notwithstanding, I exercise blame the school for non taking accountability for their role in the bullying. My girl was bullied, my son was bullied, my nephew was bullied," Smith said.

"They say that you're you're bigger in numbers, correct? You're more important in numbers? Well, nosotros accept a really large number of people saying the same thing. I would think that they would look inside themselves and say, okay, nosotros must exist the problem, we probably should start changing things, and accepting that we made some mistakes, and mistakes are okay, as long every bit you're willing to fix them."

The Waterloo Fundamental School Commune did not return a request for comment on Wed almost the suspended students. Merely on Mon the district released this statement:

"Although Waterloo Central Schoolhouse District unwaveringly supports rights to free spoken communication, the practice of such rights cannot infringe on the rights of others, disrupt the instructional day, be insubordinate or otherwise violate the District's Code of Conduct. Moving frontward, should such an incident recur, the District will have no selection but to enforce its Lawmaking of Conduct and take disciplinary action against participating students."

The commune has "express access" to the school for adults who violated its lawmaking of conduct during the protest. They will be allowed on school property for "legitimate purposes" every bit long as they provide written confirmation they will follow the code of comport.

Notation from the Waterloo Key School District, September 18

We recognize that the protest on Friday reflected the community'southward pain and emotions are high. Equally educators, nosotros at present speak to the conduct we witnessed and explicate the ways we have adapted to support all families over the past v years and moving frontwards.

On Fri, September 17th, a pocket-sized group of adults and some students participated in a protest on school grounds during school hours regarding issues related to student suicide and an alleged insensitive statement by a staff fellow member. Friday's protest caused a significant disruption to school activities and cannot recur. The protest went on for several hours and acquired substantial fear to the schoolhouse community. Students shouted obscenities at the administrators who were outside supervising them. Students marched around the loftier school and eye school campus pounding on windows and shouting, causing a substantial disruption to the instruction that was going on in the building. Students within the school who were not protesting outside or who came inside considering they were made to experience uncomfortable with the tone the protest took, shared with teachers they were existence berated and bullied by the student protestors outside of school. Many of these students expressed concern nigh returning to schoolhouse on Monday to face these classmates.

There were no incidents of bullying reported to any staff at Waterloo Middle Schoolhouse related to whatsoever organizer's child. Had such concerns been brought to the District's attention, it would have followed its Dignity for All Students Act policy, equally well as Teaching Law requirements. The Commune takes seriously problems surrounding mental health, bullying and suicide, and strives to provide a safe and good for you surroundings for students to learn. We welcome a meaningful and productive dialogue toward the goal of moving the District forward in a positive direction.

Over the past five years to back up the whole kid and help students bargain with the societal problems they face up every day, including peer interactions, poverty, mental health and drug abuse, the Waterloo Central Schoolhouse Commune has:
• added several Seneca County Mental Health Counselors to its staff in addition to 2 full time Social Worker
• updated curriculum in Health classes and added a 6th grade class in Health
• reinstated an informational catamenia at the secondary level to connect students and staff with each other for support
• added the 2nd Step Program in Grades K-8 and the PBIS program district wide
• hired an additional School Nurse, Director of Social Emotional Learning Coordination, and a Restorative Justice/Academic Dean Teacher on Special Assignment, Commune Wellness Coordinator and Building Wellness Coordinators for each school in the district
• participated in Year 2 of 3 of the Improving Schoolhouse Culture and Climate grant with Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES focused on Social Emotional Learning, Mental Health First Assistance, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
• trained staff in Second Step, PBIS, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), Teen Mental Health Offset Assist and Youth Mental Wellness First Aid
• trained teams of staff from every building in Trauma Illness and Grief (TIG) to create TIG teams in each building and the district level to reply to any incidents of trauma, illness, or grief
• created a district wide TIG response manual for all building teams to use during TIG events
• added after school programming and increased extra-curricular activities and electives at the secondary level in all areas to engage students
• expanded hands on and technology programming bachelor to students through Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES, including the New Visions and P-TECH Programs
• expanded its UPK Program to a total solar day program with transportation for four-yr quondam students
• provided wrap around extended schoolhouse day programming gratuitous of accuse to all students in both
elementary schools
• provided a gratuitous breakfast and lunch to every kid who needs information technology
• participated in the Food-link Trevor's Gift Backpack plan run past community volunteers every calendar week, delivering food to families with food instability so they have food on the weekends to feed their school-aged children
• supported students in the cosmos of Bailey'due south Boutique last bound, which provides students gratuitous of accuse wear, shoes, coats, toiletries, school supplies, school spirit wearable, food, personal hygiene items and many other items donated by the Waterloo community

Although Waterloo Central School District unwaveringly supports rights to costless speech, the exercise of such rights cannot infringe on the rights of others, disrupt the instructional day, exist insubordinate or otherwise violate the District'due south Code of Conduct.

Moving forward, should such an incident recur, the Commune will have no choice but to enforce its Code of Conduct and take disciplinary activeness against participating students. The Commune has also temporarily limited access to adults who take violated its Code of Deport. While the Commune has no interest in restricting community member or parent access to its property, it is obligated by law to maintain and uphold its Code of Conduct and proceed students safe. Adults whose access has been limited due to the September 17th incident will be permitted to access schoolhouse property for legitimate purposes moving forward upon written confirmation that they volition comply with the District'south Code of Conduct. Student prophylactic and well-being is the Commune's priority.