The mother of a 13-year-old student at Wildwood Elementary School on the far Northwest Side is suing Chicago Public Schools, accusing the school staff of “willful and wanton conduct” and negligence for allowing her daughter to be subjected to “extreme acts of race-based bullying, sexual harassment and sexual abuse.”
“Jenny was the only Black student in her fifth through seventh grade years,” attorney Jamaal Buchanan of the Disparti Law Group said at a press conference Wednesday. Attorneys are calling the girl Jenny, which is not her real name, to protect her identity. “She was subjected to extreme bullying by other students, including calling her fat, ugly, a whore [and], ‘why did you come to this school? I’m trying to kill you. You’re shaped like an egg, shaped like a football.’ And all of this was done because she was Black.”
“Through all this, the school officials minimized, obfuscated and covered up what was going on to Jenny’s mother, to the point where she had to press and press and press to find out the truth of what was happening at this school,” he said.
The lawsuit is seeking monetary damages of at least $50,000 for the young girl, who expressed suicidal thoughts in the wake of the bullying. Sher’Ron Hinton, the girl’s mother, and her attorneys say they also want CPS to agree to systemic reforms, including the creation of an office to address bullying.
A CPS spokesperson said officials do not comment on pending litigation, but noted that the district “is committed to the safety and well-being of our students.”
The Chicago Sun Times and WBEZ first published a detailed article in June on Jenny’s experience at Wildwood. In response, CPS defended the Wildwood administration’s handling of “incidents involving middle school students, including one student in particular.”
“In line with District policy, school leadership has consistently monitored and supported the students involved over the past two years,” a spokeswoman said in a written statement, noting that even complete school documents don’t capture everything about a school’s efforts or its communications with a family.
The lawsuit names the Chicago Board of Education, the Wildwood principal and assistant principal, as well as Wildwood’s physical education student teacher and teacher. The physical education student teacher is accused of sexual abuse and the physical education teacher is accused of striking Jenny on the back with a roll of paper or a clipboard.
Standing with her attorneys, Hinton said there was ample documentation of what was happening to her daughter at the school, but that she was not informed.
“They saw the signs, they had the reports, and still they did nothing,” she said. “This wasn’t a lack of awareness, it was a lack of action.”
The lawsuit accuses the school of filling out forms about Jenny expressing suicidal thoughts three times, but not informing Hinton of each incident.
“We’re seeking immediate notification to parents whenever a suicidal ideation assessment is done on a student, as was done three times with Jenny here,” said attorney Cass Casper. “I can’t believe Sher’Ron wasn’t notified when that was done. That is shocking.”
After two years of incidents, CPS’ Office of Student Protections took over the investigations into incidents involving Jenny. Casper questioned whether that office, which was only created seven years ago, was equipped to handle the volume of cases it receives.
He referenced the Sun-Times/WBEZ article that found OSP reviews 13,000 reports of alleged sexual misconduct, harassment or discrimination for potential investigation each year. The office instructs schools to handle thousands of cases that might have merit, but OSP’s eight investigators only take on about 560. CPS says OSP supports school administrators as they oversee their own investigations, and takes on cases from schools based on several factors, such as whether they are severe, repeated or complex.
Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.