Mom Says 9-Year-Old Jumped at School for Third Time

A West Portsmouth mother called the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office after she said her 9-year-old child was jumped at school, lost consciousness, and nobody called an ambulance. She also told deputies this was not the first time. According to the sheriff’s log, the mother said it was the third time her child had been attacked at school. She said the child’s grandparents picked him up, but there were no teachers around at that point to report the alleged assault to. The mother declined EMS when she spoke with deputies, and officers took information for a report. The available record does not identify the school, explain what led to the alleged attack, or include the school’s version of what happened. But one detail stands out: the mother said her 9-year-old passed out. Any loss of consciousness after a blow to the head or body should be taken seriously. The CDC says a child with a possible concussion should be checked by a healthcare provider, and emergency care is needed if concerning symptoms develop, including worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion, trouble waking, seizures, weakness, slurred speech, or another loss of consciousness. What Can Parents Do When School Violence Keeps Happening? When a child says they have been attacked repeatedly, parents don’t have to settle for one phone call and hope things improve. Start by putting everything in writing. Report the incident to the principal or other school administrator and include what happened, where it happened, who was involved, witnesses, injuries, and whether there have been earlier incidents. Ohio’s anti-bullying guidance specifically recommends reporting suspected bullying to the principal or designee and documenting the people, places, frequency, and witnesses involved. Ask the school what it is doing to keep the child safe going forward. That could include identifying a staff member the child can immediately go to, changing supervision, separating students where appropriate, or creating a safety plan. Ohio guidance recommends developing an action plan and identifying a “safe person” for students involved in repeated bullying situations. Keep copies of medical records, photographs of injuries, emails, incident reports, and messages from the school. If the problem is not resolved at the building level, parents can take the complaint to the superintendent and then the school board. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce specifically directs parents to work through those local steps when dealing with school-safety concerns. And if a child is assaulted, seriously injured, threatened with a weapon, or parents believe a crime has occurred, they can also contact law enforcement. Don’t Ignore “Passed Out” There is another issue in this case separate from school discipline. If a child loses consciousness after being hit, even briefly, parents should tell the child’s healthcare provider exactly what happened and watch closely for concussion symptoms. Those symptoms do not always appear immediately. They can show up hours or even days later. The sheriff’s report does not tell us whether this child was later medically evaluated. It does tell us his mother was worried enough to call deputies after what she described as the third attack. At that point, the question isn’t only who started the latest fight. It’s what adults are going to do to make sure there isn’t a fourth one.

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