UPDATE (10:15 p.m.) — Lyric Myles, a fourth grader at Kellar, shared with WMBD what possibly led to a student bringing a knife to school. According to Myles, the student brought the knife to school as retaliation for being bullied.
Myles said the student did not feel comfortable telling teachers about the bullying but instead shared with friends. She said the friends suggested the student bring the knife to school.
Myles said the student showed the knife on the bus and someone else told a helper at school. This prompted administration to speak to the student and the alleged bullies.. However, Myles said only the student with the knife got in trouble.
Myles recognizes that bringing a knife to school is wrong but thinks something should be done to the students who did the bullying.
“I think they should have liked missed some days of school. Cause I don’t think it’s fair that she has to miss days of schools even though the kids, I mean she did bring a knife but they should have at least suspended the kids a couple of days who were bullying her,” Myles said.
Myles’ guardians said while the acknowledge the concern around the knife, they also want the school to focus on the root of the incident which they say is bullying.
UPDATE (9:15p.m.)– WMBD has obtained a copy of the voicemail sent out to parents and guardians regarding the student with the inappropriate object.
The call was sent out around 5:05 p.m. Thursday night.
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Parents are searching for answers following an incident at Kellar Primary School in Peoria, and now the local teachers union president is weighing in.
Parents are learning from other parents about an incident where a Kellar Primary student brought a knife on a school bus. They are concerned there was no communication from the district to inform them about the incident.
Jeff Adkins-Dutro, president of Peoria Teachers Union, said a lot of things happen in schools that parents are not aware of.
“They do notify parents about a lot of things, so I’m not exactly sure what happened in this situation in particular. Maybe they dropped the ball on this one incident. I think if we open the doors and show them everything, they would be outraged by what is going on,” he said.
A PPS spokesperson said a student did bring an “inappropriate object” on the bus, but would not confirm to WMBD if it was, in fact, a knife.
PPS only sends mass notifications in the event of an active or widespread threat. The incident did not meet the district’s threshold of an imminent threat, defined as “risk to life or a risk of severe property damage within the next 72 hours” according to Superintendent Dr. Sharon Kherat. Other criteria include whether the threat is contained or spreading.
Adkins-Dutro said there needs to be more transparency from school administration to teachers and parents.
“There should be transparency when something like that happens because if there’s not, you get what we have today. Rumors are running rampant, people are wondering what’s going on, and it becomes this huge deal,” he said.
However, Adkins-Dutro said if the school district notified parents every time a student brought inappropriate things to school, such as alcohol or vape pen, it would be “overwhelming.”
“I think maybe a general awareness about those things, maybe some updates in the newsletter if it is becoming a big problem would be good,” he said.
All in all, communication is key, Adkins-Dutro said.
“I do know there are incidents that go on all the time in the schools that parents are not aware of, and I think they need to be of them so we can improve our schools. Because without the parents and the community, the change is not going to happen,” he said.
