North Syracuse, NY - A seventh-grader was suspended from school for creating a Facebook group page that libeled one of her Roxboro Road Middle School teachers in the North Syracuse school district, principal Steve Wolf said.

Twenty-five other Roxboro Road students are paying a price for becoming fans of the group by posting their profile pictures and their real names on the site, Wolf said. They were ordered to go to after-school detention last Thursday, as well as today and Tuesday, Wolf said. Some of the students posted derogatory comments on the Facebook page, while others did not, he said.

The content on the Facebook page was obscene in nature, as well as inappropriate, Wolf said.

“It was done intentionally to hurt this teacher,” Wolf said. “The kid was angry with the teacher. It’s unclear why.”

Superintendent Jerome Melvin urged parents to be cautious of what's on their childrens' Facebook pages.



A concerned parent e-mailed Wolf last week to alert him of the Facebook page. After school resource officer Deputy Christopher Dell looked into the allegation, school officials contacted the seventh-grade girl's parents. Her mother, who was unaware of the page, agreed to remove it immediately, Wolf said.

The student is expected to return to school this week.

“Parents need to monitor what their children are doing. That’s not just on the computer or laptops, it’s their cell phones, iPods and all types of technology that are able to access Facebook and the Internet,” Wolf said. “Until the kids show they are mature enough to handle this, they should set their filters or parental controls available through their Internet provider to filter such content.”

Catie O'Toole can be reached at cotoole@syracuse.com or 470-2134.