A nine-year-old’s goodbye echoed by way of a memorial service in January as she advised her older sister she beloved her. “Fly excessive my angel,” she stated.
Lexi Blackwood was 12 years outdated when she took her personal life.
Her father, Ryan Marshall, says Lexi was as soon as assured and outgoing, however that started to vary when she entered center faculty.
“She was so assured till she began going through harassment and bullying each day,” Marshall stated. “It mainly chipped away her confidence till it was very nicely zero, and right here we’re immediately.”
In response to her household, Lexi confided in her mother and father final October about ongoing verbal harassment, together with feedback concentrating on her look. Marshall says the bullying usually got here from college students Lexi didn’t even know.
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“Nobody she knew in her classroom,” he stated. “She didn’t even know these folks consistently placing her down, calling her names.”
The household stated they contacted the college for assist however had been as an alternative referred to a youth counselling centre. They query why the main focus was positioned on Lexi’s psychological well being relatively than addressing the alleged bullying.
In an announcement, Central Okanagan Public Colleges prolonged its sympathy to the household as they address what it known as an “unimaginable loss.” The district stated it can not touch upon the specifics of the case and that it follows a provincial security training framework.
Marshall says the household felt Lexi’s expertise was not taken significantly sufficient.
Her grandfather, Dwight Blackwood, says some steps had been taken, however they didn’t handle the foundation of the issue.
“That they had a monitor within the corridor for a number of days,” he stated. “However our little Lexi wasn’t even within the hallway anyway, they let her out 5 minutes early so she might keep away from the crowds.”
Marshall says the scenario turned so extreme that Lexi missed two weeks of faculty. When she returned, he says communication from the college was minimal.
Now, the household is asking for systemic change, together with extra proactive psychological well being sources and common wellness checks, relatively than counting on college students to succeed in out on their very own.
“We’re hoping for change within the faculty board,” Marshall stated. “Extra direct sources. Not simply two or three choices which are fully reliant on the scholar to succeed in out themselves.”
For the household, sharing Lexi’s story is about stopping one other loss.
“If we will cease one different household from going by way of this,” Marshall stated, “that’s our objective.”
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