A twelfth-grader at Haddon Heights Public Schools was allegedly bullied by his teacher and other students and attempted to commit suicide. Yet, says his grandmother (who serves as his guardian), the young man’s plight was ignored by district administrators. The student, whom NJ Education Report is not naming, is certified for special education services and is African-American. 

The grandmother told NJ Ed Report, “they threw my grandson’s life away like it was trash.” She also said there have been four other suicide attempts within the district, that she had filed two complaints of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB), and that one of his teachers made “monkey” gestures mocking him. (In the teacher’s case, the HIB complaint was judged valid.) “It’s a modern-day lynching,” she said. He was also the victim of cyber-bullying.

The student has suffered much loss; his mother died during the Covid-19 pandemic, as did four other relatives. He has a history of impulsivity, ADHD, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. After the incidents at school he became severely depressed. With his grandmother’s advocacy, he enrolled at the Gateway To College Program at Camden County College, where he is in a dual-enrollment program and on track to finish high school and simultaneously earn college credits. 

The grandmother says she has contacted Haddon Heights’ superintendent, the principal of the high school, the Merchantville Police Department, the New Jersey Education Department, the Office of Civil Rights, the Department of Child Protective Services, and Congressman Donald Norcross, who is her legislative representative. 

Haddon Heights Public Schools has not responded to NJ Education Report’s request for comment.