A Middletown teenager who was bullied at middle school is now grabbing national headlines.
HBO recently documented Monique McClain’s story after boxer Sergio Martinez took her under his wing. The 13-year-old was bullied at Woodrow Wilson Middle School nearly a year ago and hasn’t been back since.
“She went through a period of time where she was very depressed. She lost a lot of weight. She went from being the most popular kid to having no friends,” Alycia McClain, Monique’s mom, said.
McClain said her daughter isn’t alone. She’s talked to several other parents whose children have been bullied.
“A mother was just telling me how her daughter, who is in the 8th grade, was hospitalized three times on suicide watch because of the bullying going on at Woodrow Wilson,” McClain said.
Parents like McClain said they’ve had enough and attended a board of education meeting on Tuesday night, demanding that members do something to stop the bullying before it’s too late.
“My son suffers from PTSD. I want the board to hold these bullies accountable. Aaron couldn’t come back to school this year because they can’t guarantee his safety,” Cheryl Miller, of Middletown, said.
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The superintendent told NBC Connecticut that there is bullying at every school, but Middletown takes it very seriously.
Parents said the superintendent isn’t doing enough to stop the problem and McClain fears it’ll take a tragedy before he does.
“It shouldn’t take a kid taking their life. Do something about it now before the kids take their own life,” McClain begged.
