Parents blame teachers for bullying

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - More parents have come forward, accusing teachers and the principal at Los Ranchos Elementary School in the North Valley for making bullying at the school worse .

One woman said school administrators do nothing to punish students who bully their classmates.

"When we met with the principal, I was told this is what kids this age do, this is what girls do," said one mother, who does not want to be identified. "Almost everyday it was something that happened."

She pulled her fourth grader from Los Ranchos in early February after she said bullying became so bad. She said her daughter's teacher also started making comments about the girl's appearance and dress.

"Why don't you take her to get a nice haircut so that maybe the kids won't call her ugly," said her mother. "She should not be able to wear that sweatshirt because it makes her look like a homeless child. They kept making it about her and not what multiple kids were doing to her."

On Monday, Judy Apodaca, whose son 9-years-old is also being bullied at Los Ranchos, said his teacher recommended the entire family lose weight during a parent-teacher meeting.

"My whole family should walk five miles a week and not eat after seven and have the whole family make points on trying to lose weight," said Apodaca. "I got offended by it. I thought why are you saying that to me."

APS officials said they're limited on what they can say about school administrators and how they handled these two bullying cases because of federal privacy laws.

APS officials said every school employee gets annual training on how to handle bullying issues.

The school board did meet on Tuesday night, where it got an earful from concerned parents about bullying. Superintendent Winston Brooks said each school currently has its own bullying prevention programs and punishments. Brooks said the district is looking at the possibility of developing one policy for the whole district.

Brooks couldn't comment on issues at Los Ranchos but admitted some schools are better than others at reining in bullies.

"We have some principals who are really, really tough and set that expectation up among their kids," said Brooks. "Obviously, ignoring the issue is not an answer."