The mother of a student at Walcott Elementary School wants answers after she says her second-grader got beaten up by older students recently on a school bus.
“The bus driver’s job is to help keep the children safe and to get them to school safely. I don’t feel like she did her job of keeping my son safe — she failed my son, and the district is failing my son,” Patricia Carlton told Our Quad Cities News.
On Oct. 17, 2023, her son Jeremy got in trouble for standing up on the seats while the bus was in motion. Two days later, Carlton went to the school for Jeremy’s academic update and says that’s when the school’s principal explained why he was punished – suspended for the rest of the week from riding the bus.
She was shown a video from the bus ride and was shocked at what she saw.
Carlton said Jeremy (who has special needs and ADHD) thought the kids were playing around at first, but then it escalated.
“The one kid started smacking him in the face as the other kid drove his elbow into Jeremy’s throat and then when that didn’t work obviously, he proceeded to sit on Jeremy and shove him all the way back into the seat against the window and that’s how he sustained his concussion,” Carlton said.
She’s upset because she feels the school isn’t doing enough.
A spokesperson for the Davenport Community School District said in a statement the students involved in the incident have been disciplined, and the bus driver has been addressed by their employer.
“An isolated incident occurred between students on an Alltown school bus. Students involved in the incident have been disciplined according to Davenport Community School District policy,” the Oct. 27 district statement said.
“As always, the goal of Davenport Community School District is to provide a safe and welcoming environment for educational and social experiences for our students and to help grow excellence within the district.”
Jeremy’s mother said she wants to know how the students involved were punished.
“They don’t deserve a smack on the hand – granted, I understand they’re children I get that,” Carlton said. “I don’t want them severely punished, but they don’t deserve just a smack on the hand.”
She is planning legal action against the bus company and school district.
