Bullying not a big problem in LA
Last week, we featured a back-to-school story about the anxieties students face in starting a new school year. A major source of anxiety after students have settled into classes is the classic problem of bullying.
Parents and teachers used to dismiss bullying as an irritating but unavoidable part of school life that students had to simply resolve on their own. However, in the wake of studies revealing that both the bullied and the bully show psychological damage as adults, the subject is being taken far more seriously these days.
The Los Altos School District is currently being sued by a former sixth-grader injured after allegedly being picked up by another student and dropped to the ground. He is seeking more than $25,000 in damages.
The action is the first such suit against a district known both for its outstanding academic standing and its safe school environments. The suit is also a curious one, considering the injury took place on June 3, 2004, but the complaint wasn’t filed until July 8 of this year.
Regardless of the truths or untruths in this particular incident, we want to reaffirm our confidence in the school district as a safe place where bullying is kept to a minimum. A strict zero-tolerance policy ensures this. Any student is subject to suspension or expulsion for threatening, causing or attempting to cause physical harm to others. We also want to affirm our confidence in Principal Steve Peck and the staff of Santa Rita Elementary, the school attended by the child who is suing. We’ve seen Peck in action.
Thanks to all the volunteer support it enjoys, the district is not lacking in supervision for its students, whether it be yard duty at lunchtime or parental assistance in the classroom.
We are not putting our collective heads in the sand and saying bullying in Los Altos does not exist. However, our experience has shown it hasn’t been a big problem either, unlike other areas across the state and nation.
Congratulations on rebuilt church
Members of the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer are to be commended for not losing hope and realizing their dream of rebuilding their church sanctuary.
The congregation held its first service at the sanctuary Aug. 7, capping a long road back after the original Antiochian sanctuary was gutted in an arson-related blaze in April 2002.
“This milestone would not have been achieved without the support of the communities of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View,” said the Rev. Samer Youssef of the church.
It also would not have been achieved without the undying faith of the 200 or so Antiochian members, who continued to gather under a canvas tarp in the church courtyard while the sanctuary was being rebuilt.
We congratulate the Antiochian community on their perserverence and wish members well on their continued fund-raising efforts to pay for construction of the sanctuary. The community will have another opportunity to help with donations, as well as sample fine food, during the Sept. 10-11 International Festival of Foods at the church, 380 Magdalena Ave.
