STOKES COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — The superintendent of Stokes County Schools is giving a warning to students.
“If you can’t treat others with a culture of respect, you won’t be a student in Stokes County Schools,” Dr. Brad Rice said.
District leaders are taking action after a student’s death by suicide three days into the new school year.
Kallie Fagg was a 13-year-old eighth grader at Southeastern Stokes Middle School. She took her own life one week ago today after her dad says she was being bullied at school.
Now, district leaders are changing policies to put an end to bullying. Middle and high school students caught bullying will not be able to participate in extracurricular activities for 90 days and will face a five-day suspension after their first offense. The second time, it’s a year-long loss of extracurriculars and a 10-day suspension.
Rice said these consequences might seem harsh, but it is worth it if they prevent another student from taking their life.
“As a superintendent, I went and visited the family last week,” Rice said. “I never want to go through that again.”
The loss of Kallie is a tragedy being felt throughout the Stokes County community.
“I am really at a loss for words,” Board of Education Member Cheryl Knight said. “We should not ever lose any child, especially to something like this. I do wish something could have been said or this definitely could have been avoided.”
Some members even got emotional talking about the subject.
“I don’t know of anything that has broken my heart more because this was on my watch, and I am having a hard time with it,” said Dwayne Bryant, vice chairperson of the Stokes County Board of Education.
Kallie’s death is prompting district leaders to take a better look at how they’re dealing with bullies. During Tuesday night’s school board meeting, members promised to make changes.
“We are holding Dr. Rice accountable to hold his staff accountable because there is a daddy who is going to be burying his little girl,” Board Member Justin Duncan said. “He won’t get to see her graduate, go to prom, get married … That could be any one of us.”
Rice is stepping up to the challenge. The new policies should be in place by Sept.18. Parents will receive a phone call and paperwork from their child’s school in the coming days explaining the consequences.
Rice is also requiring teachers to undergo additional training related to bullying and how to report it. This fall, the district will host family meetings to teach parents what to look out for.
“I think we all have to own a piece of this,” Rice said. “I’m certainly owning mine, and our school system is owning ours. But I think it’s a wakeup call for everybody to look at how we treat people in general.”
The district has a tipline where parents and students can report bullying. The superintendent is looking at making posters with QR codes to put up in schools, so the website is easy to access.
Last year, it got 48 tips. None of them were related to Kallie.
FOX8 did reach out to Kallie’s dad Wednesday afternoon about the policy changes. He said he’s hoping and praying they will be enforced, so no other child suffers like his daughter did.