Let concern for your grandson guide you

Q: My 9-year-old grandson stumbled on two classmates defacing bathroom cubicles with a pocket knife. They threatened to stab him. After two sleepless nights and two untouched lunches, he told us.

Our principal threatened expulsion if he was lying. The two boys finally confessed. One of them spent a single day in the school office while the other suffered no consequences.

The school board has an automatic expulsion clause for bringing weapons to school or threatening with a weapon. Why was my grandson threatened with expulsion if he was lying yet the guilty boys were not expelled?

A: In the absence of investigating, it is impossible to answer your question as to the decisions of the school board.

However, there are actions you can take if dissatisfied with the outcome. Given this was your grandson, I was left wondering who the source of your information was. At times, even though well intentioned, people can embellish, omit and even make up parts of the story to fit their own needs.

The best people to answer your question directly may be your grandson, his parents and the principal.

If events occurred as stated, it sounds like this was a traumatic event for your grandson. Having been threatened with a knife, he had trouble sleeping, was reportedly intimidated by the principal and will likely have to continue to go to classes in the school where the boys who threatened him continue to attend.

Given all that, I would hope the lad has access to counselling or support to address the trauma and any ongoing fear. If the two boys are in the same classroom, I would wonder if your grandson feels safe. From this perspective, it may be important to concentrate more on his needs than your concerns as to the fairness of the consequence faced by the other boys.

If you continue to be dissatisfied with the principal, you can escalate your concern to their supervisor, likely a superintendent. If you call the school board, they will be able to tell you to whom you can direct your complaint.

Given the boys were all under 12 years of age, this will not be a police matter per se, but you could also call the Children’s Aid Society and ask them to check on the well-being of the boys who threatened your son to determine if they have any unmet needs that gave rise to their actions.

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