Distressing footage showed a 12-year-old girl from Portland being beaten-up by a school bully, forcing her to take a panic alarm to class after her school ignored a judge’s no-contact order
Jocelyn Karst was beaten up by the unnamed assailant at the apartment block where both live, but the notorious West Sylvan Middle School both attend is alleged to have enabled further bullying on campus.
Karst and her mother, Heather Chick, said that her daughter at one point tried to bring pepper spray to school to stop what the concerned mom calls ‘vicious’ bullying but had it confiscated.
A video from the October assault shows a student beating up Karst inside the building where they both live and where Chick told DailyMail.com they are unable to move out of because of financial issues.
‘She pulled me, threw me to the ground, and then started hitting me multiple times,’ Karst told KOIN 6. ‘And all I remember is apologizing over and over. I kind of didn’t know what was real at that point.’
Distressing footage showed a Portland 12-year-old girl beaten-up by a school bully, forcing her to take a panic alarm to class after her school ignored a judge’s no-contact order
West Sylvan Middle School, shown here, is ranked as the fifth best middle school in Oregon, according to US News & World Report
Chick said she was completely unaware of what was going on, cooking dinner in their home at the time.
She adds that she alerted the school that she’d gotten a protective order against the bully shortly after it happened and it was eventually made permanent, but the school has not done anything to help stop the abuse.
‘The teachers and the principal mostly have been very aware of what’s going on, and still did not follow those rules,’ said Chick.
‘I mean, we could have been…held accountable too if something would have happened with her, you know, towards her. Either way, it goes both ways. And nobody established any kind of rules or boundaries.’
She added that the video being shared around campus led to even more bullying towards her daughter.
There have been at least three other bullying attacks at West Sylvan Middle School in recent months, KOIN 6 reported.
According to US News & World Report, West Sylvan is ranked as the fifth best middle school in all of Oregon.
Chick and Karst sent an email to the school March 9 writing: ‘I am aware of multiple acts of violence that seemingly continue to occur at West Sylvan Middle School. While this pattern concerns me, I specifically need to know what steps you are going to take to protect my client while she is in your school, in compliance with the terms of the attached order.’
Dr. Jon Franco, the chief of Portland Public Schools, claims the student identified hasn’t been on campus since March 8.
Jocelyn Karst was beaten up by the unnamed assailant at the apartment block where both live, but the notorious West Sylvan Middle School both attend is said to have enabled further bullying on campus
Karst and her mother, Heather Chick (pictured right), said that her daughter has been forced to bring pepper spray and a panic button to school to stop what Chick calls ‘vicious’ bullying but have had them taken away
Chick fought to get a restraining order against the bully but claimed the school wouldn’t honor it the next day
‘There is a national crisis around student dis-regulation and we in Portland are not immune to this crisis,’ Franco said in a statement.
‘We have, and will continue, to prioritize Social Emotional Learning (SEL) support for students through SEL curriculum, increasing the number of quality mental health providers, and professional development for educators and staff.’
Chick, speaking to DailyMail.com, claimed that she hasn’t heard from the school directly about any of her complaints and doesn’t believe they were ever heard, given the student was allowed in school a day after the restraining order was finalized.
She said that when she called them on it, school officials laughed and her daughter said they shook their heads.
‘An hour after that, we learned this girl just attacked another girl in the restroom along with four others.’
Chick, speaking to DailyMail.com, claimed that she hasn’t heard from the school directly about any of her complaints and doesn’t believe they were ever heard, given the student was allowed in school a day after the restraining order was finalized
Dr. Jon Franco (pictured), Portland Public Schools Chief, claims the child has not been in attendance at the school since March 8
Chick notes that she and her daughter are in low-income housing and are unable to change where they live or where her child attends school.
‘We aren’t protected by anyone here in our housing, in the schools, police won’t honor the restraining order as they said they never knew what legal ways they can do it. The system is very screwy and they need help to help our youth.’
Portland Public School says they’ve added a ‘campus safety associate’ to stop these attacks, but Karst believes more should be done, including an investigation into the school district.
‘The principal and vice principal should gain knowledge about this,’ Karst said. ‘The violence has caused me to not want to be there. It has caused me to fear for my life.’
Chick just wants to school to show some sort of concern for her daugher’s well being.
‘They go to school a lot of hours, and those kids depend on these adults to take care of them, and to watch them, and keep them safe, and to teach them,’ she said. ‘What they’re teaching them right now is nobody cares.’
