PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia is investigating what has been described as toxic conditions at the Bodine High School for International Affairs that triggered a series of student walkouts this month.
Bodine students took their concerns directly to the Board of Education at Thursday night’s meeting.
Students described Bodine as a school with no discipline, with no consequences for fighting or skipping classes.
“The culture is extremely toxic,” Bodine junior Desmond Farlow told the board.
“The staff is told if they step out of line to help with any of the above topics, that there will be consequences. The administrator is a complete bully and surrounds herself with those who also are. The students are fed up.”
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“Students feel body-shamed and victimized all throughout the school with comments coming directly from staff,” Farlow added. “Fights go unreported and some have resulted in further harm to students. And no one is doing anything to fix this.”
At the board meeting, Superintendent William Hite said the district was investigating the situation and he encouraged Farlow to stay involved. “As we conduct these investigations, it’s really important to ensure that your voice and the voice of other students at Bodine are part of this process,” Hite said.
The district Friday said principal Michele Wilson-Dawson was not available for comment.
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Bodine, on Fourth Street south of Girard Avenue in Northern Liberties, was formed in the 1980s in a district partnership with the World Affairs Council.
“Whenever staff, students or families have concerns about the climate of their schools, they are encouraged to bring their concerns to the school principal,” district spokeswoman Monica Lewis said in a statement.
“In the event the school community feels as if the concerns are not being addressed, they can share them with the assistant superintendent for the learning network in which the school is assigned. Additionally, any person, whether the alleged victim or not, may submit a report alleging bullying, harassment or discrimination, this includes students, parents/guardians and employees. We take these allegations very seriously, and all reported concerns will be investigated.”
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