Oakland: When school bullies get out of hand Dad says school ignored complaints of earlier attacks

###Live Caption: First-grader Zachary Caltaldo rests at his home in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 after spending a night at Children's Hospital following an attack by a bully at Piedmont Elementary School. Photo by Paul Chinn / San Francisco Chronicle ###Caption History: First-grader Zachary Caltaldo rests at his home in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 after spending a night at Children's Hospital following an attack by a bully at Piedmont Elementary School. Photo by Paul Chinn / San Francisco Chronicle ###Notes: Zachary Caltaldo ###Special Instructions: MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOGRAPHER AND S.F. CHRONICLE/NO SALES - MAGS OUT less ###Live Caption:First-grader Zachary Caltaldo rests at his home in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 after spending a night at Children's Hospital following an attack by a bully at Piedmont ... more Photo: Paul Chinn Photo: Paul Chinn Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Oakland: When school bullies get out of hand 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Anthony Cataldo of Oakland first raised concerns about aggressive bullying at his son's elementary school last year after Zachary lost four teeth on the playground - but he said he received only a verbal assurance that things would change.

Cataldo said he complained again when some boys at school kicked 7-year-old Zachary in the stomach three months ago but got no response.

Now - two days after an older student slammed Zachary against a tree, fracturing his skull and sending the first-grader to intensive care - Cataldo is hiring a lawyer, and school officials are paying attention.

"This is the only way they'll listen," Cataldo said. "I'm scared for my son."

State records show that Piedmont Avenue Elementary is Oakland's second-most-violent elementary school, recording 97 suspensions last year for violence - including nine involving a weapon.

That level of danger is higher than at most middle and high schools in the district as well.

"It's a major concern," said Denise Saddler, an Oakland Unified School District administrator in charge of elementary schools in North and West Oakland.

Saddler said she will address Monday's violence at Piedmont Avenue, but she called it a personnel matter and declined to discuss details.

She said that an investigation of the incident that sent Zachary to Children's Hospital is under way and that no student will be punished until the facts have been gathered.

Principal Angela Haick declined to comment on Cataldo's assertions that his complaints fell on deaf ears or to discuss Monday's incident.

It happened after school as Zachary waited for a ride. As he tells it, "a fifth-grader picked me up, and he body-slammed me into a tree."

Moments later, Zachary's after-school caregiver, Arhonda Morris, drove up and saw him. She also saw an older boy running for a bus, said Cataldo, a single father who works as a receiver for Safeway in Oakland.

A girl who witnessed the attack said it was unprovoked, Cataldo said.

Unaware of how badly Zachary was hurt, Morris drove him to her home and called the school to report what had happened, Cataldo said.

"While she was doing that, she noticed that Zachary was sitting on the floor passing out - that's when she called me," he said.

Zachary was clammy and lethargic. Morris put him in her truck and picked up Cataldo. At the hospital, Zachary began vomiting. A CT scan revealed a skull fracture, so doctors whisked him into intensive care, hoping to avoid surgery.

It wasn't the first time the boy had been hurt at Piedmont Elementary.

His father said that in kindergarten last year, Zachary was on the playground when some fifth-graders who had been sent out of class for disciplinary reasons approached him and lifted him up.

"One was spinning Zachary around," Cataldo said. Then he let go.

Zachary lost four teeth.

"I got reassurance from his principal that nothing like this would happen again," Cataldo said. But three months ago, "he was kicked in the stomach by an older kid.

"That raised my concerns again," Cataldo said. "This has been an ongoing problem. Once school lets out, there is absolutely no supervision while the kids are waiting to be picked up. This is when these (older) kids are preying on them."

He said he has also seen unsupervised youngsters running around wildly in the morning before school when he has dropped off Zachary a few minutes early.

Saddler confirmed that elementary students across the district are often unsupervised unless they are enrolled in before- or after-school programs.

"We don't have the finances to cover parents before the hours that school starts," Saddler said. "And after school, we do not have supervision for students who are not enrolled in after-school programs. We are very, very clear with parents that they need to make arrangements for their children."

She acknowledged that for many parents, such arrangements are not always possible to make.

Cataldo, meanwhile, said he was stunned to learn that Piedmont Avenue's suspensions for violence last year were among the highest of the district's 59 elementary schools. Only Preparatory Literary Academy in West Oakland, with 106, had more.

"I just find that astounding, because we're talking about elementary kids up to the age of 11," he said. "It's scary, is what it is."

Doctors released Zachary on Wednesday, his headache gone and his appetite restored.

His aunt, Janine Cataldo, said she has tried to get Zachary enrolled in the school where her children go but was told there was no room. That school, Chabot Elementary, reported no violent suspensions last year.

Under the circumstances, Saddler said, moving Zachary out of Piedmont Avenue is a conversation she's ready to have.