Her Son Injured At D153 School, Mom Says 'We Have To Do A Better Job'

HOMEWOOD, IL — The mother of a fourth grader at Homewood District 153's Churchill School is frustrated and wants clarity after her son was injured while on school premises last month. The 10-year-old was stabbed with a pencil in his buttocks by another student, Jessica Lopez said, and she wants answers on how the school plans to handle the situation.

Students were in the midst of STAR testing at the school Jan. 26, and had stood up to stretch. As her son sat down, she says, another student allegedly reached his hand across his seat, holding the pencil. Her son sat down, the motion causing the pencil to plunge several inches deep into his left buttock. In a picture Patch deemed too graphic to publish, the pencil is shown a measured 4.5 inches inside the wound. Doctors told Lopez it narrowly missed her son's intestines.

Lopez is questioning the school's approach to the incident, and is pressing administration for answers. As of Monday, Feb. 6, administrators had not informed her of any disciplinary action planned to be taken against the student involved. Patch is not naming her son because he is a minor.

"The school really does have to do a better job protecting our kids, not only the kids, the staff," Lopez told Patch. "The school’s not doing anything to protect my son. They have not come up with a plan."

Patch reached out to Homewood District 153 Superintendent Dr. Scott McAlister for comment. On Monday, Feb. 6, McAlister issued the following statement:

Our administrative team has conducted a thorough investigation of this particular incident and feel we have a clear picture of what occurred.

As with any case involving student discipline, the district is following state and local guidelines with regard to any consequences. We strive to create a safe environment for all of our students and take the appropriate actions when that environment is not maintained."

As her son prepares to return to school, Lopez detailed the events of that day, pieced together with details he recalls. She says after the incident occurred, another student walked her son to the nurse's office—something Lopez called into question.

"What if he would have slipped and fell?" she wonders. The nurse met him outside the door, she said, and "that's when I got the call." Her son told her the nurse instructed the other student to return to class and tell the teacher her son would not be returning that day. Lopez was called and told her son had been stabbed with a pencil.

She arrived at the nurse's office, where he "was lying on the nurse’s table with a pencil sticking out of his body. They’d already cut his pants to keep it from moving."

He was taken to South Suburban Hospital and later transferred to Hope Children’s Hospital at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. There, she learned that due to the depth and severity of the wound, they would not be able to stitch it.

"It has to heal from the inside out," she said.

Her son was prescribed antibiotics, and she was instructed to clean the wound every two hours as he recovers. His recovery has been going well, she said, though the area is still tender to touch.

School employees called police that day; her son was not interviewed. An initial report taken shows the incident categorized as a battery, with a disposition of "closed administratively." Homewood police would not take further action, she was told, because the incident falls under the purview of District 153.

Lopez alleges it was not the first encounter her son had with the student, saying the student had previously struck her son during gym class. A handbook on the district website details a 10-day suspension as punishment for infractions.

"A building administrator or District Superintendent may suspend a student per Board policy and the Illinois School Code," the handbook reads. "When a student is suspended, he/she may be required to meet with the social worker, the counselor or the school psychologist upon return to the school. Students are not allowed to be on school property or at any school function during their suspension period."

Lopez shared her family's story on social media, which she says sparked a flurry of responses from other concerned parents.

"I received so many messages, it killed me," Lopez said. "What some of these kids are going through, and we don’t hear about it. ... Kids threatened on the bus with scissors, kids getting beaten on the playground—there is a safety issue."

Lopez wants her son to return to school, "sooner than later," she said, at the advice of a therapist who said trauma can compound over time. She is uneasy about his return; administrators have told her the other student will be reassigned to another fourth grade classroom. McAlister could not confirm that decision, citing student privacy laws.

"'Mom, what if he hurts someone else like he hurt me?'" she said her son asked her.

In an email sent to district staff and school board members Friday, Feb. 3, McAlister addressed the incident, saying, "I can assure you that as is often the case, the manner in which it is being portrayed in the media and on social media is not entirely accurate."

McAlister went on to say that when an incident between students causes injury, administrators "must ask ourselves the degree to which we feel the continued presence of a student in our buildings might pose a danger to others."

It is not "an exact science," he said, but administrators use the information available to them to shape their decisions, he said. He also noted that students experience growth at different rates and at varying points in their educational experiences.

"... oftentimes that growth occurs by making mistakes and learning from them," he wrote.

Lopez has researched approaches the district might consider regarding the student, she said, and plans to attend the District 153 Board of Education meeting to be held Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at the James Hart Media Center, 18220 Morgan St. She's urging other parents, families to join her and put a voice to their concerns.

"There has to be a better way to protect our kids. As a mom, I’m sad that this kid has this much aggression that can cause this much harm. … until you guys figure out why this child is so upset, so angry, we still need to protect the other kids.

"... Something has to change."