Humboldt mom seeks justice for son after alleged bullying at Stigall Primary

Like any other day, Casey Dunn sent her 7-year-old son to school at Stigall Primary in Humboldt on Tuesday. Around 8:30 a.m., the school called her to come pick him up because he had gotten sick.

When Dunn arrived at the school she found her son in a bathroom stall, naked, with fecal matter on him. Other kids using the restroom were laughing and making fun of him, she added.

“My child proceeds to tell me that he had a substitute teacher that day,” Dunn said. “He asked her the first time, ‘Can I go to the bathroom, my stomach hurts.’”

Allegedly the substitute teacher declined his request to go to the bathroom two more times until he vomited in the classroom.

After cleaning him up, Dunn told the office staff that she needed clothes to put on him so they could leave and was given a scarf to wrap around him, she said.

Once he was cleaned up Dunn noticed a red, blotchy rash on her son’s face, which was later identified as hives by a doctor.

“His little nerves were just shot,” she said.

Facebook post goes viral

On Tuesday afternoon Dunn posted a picture of her son’s face and a description of what happened on Facebook. As of Thursday morning, the post had been shared over 18,000 times.

Dunn never expected the post to take off like it did, but she is happy that it brought awareness to the issue.

“It honestly feels like the world has a heart again,” Dunn said.

The post sparked a phone call from Stigall Primary School’s principal acknowledging the “severity of the situation,” she said.

Dunn is scheduled to meet with school officials after spring break on April 2.

There have been other problems with bullying since her son started kindergarten last year at Stigall, she added. Officials have responded to previous incidents by moving seats or switching the classroom of the other student.

The Jackson Sun reached out to Humboldt City Schools for a response. The entirety of their statement is as follows:

“An investigation regarding a student attending Stigall Primary School is currently underway. Dr. Versie R. Hamlett, Director of Schools, received notification yesterday (Tuesday) of this complaint. Dr. Hamlett explained, ‘Humboldt City Schools’ highest expectation is to create a safe environment for faculty, staff and students at all times. As a result, when allegations of this nature are made, we take prompt action to protect our students and protect student records which are confidential. The facts surrounding this matter are in dispute. We are not making any comment in response to the Facebook post.'”

Reach reporter Brittney Jackson at bljackson@gannett.com or 731-425-9643.