‘Cowardly Dirty Work’: Pennsylvania Teen Forced Out of School After Racist Classmates Relentlessly Called Her a Monkey and Sang ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ Until She Had a Mental Breakdown
The parents of a Pennsylvania teenager were just awarded a settlement to resolve a lawsuit that alleged their child endured extreme racist bullying within her school district.
A judge recently approved a $50,000 award for the family of a now-17-year-old biracial teenager.
The teen’s parents, Jenna Swisher and Reginald Gallman, filed a lawsuit in 2022 against the Jersey Shore Area School District, alleging their daughter suffered repeated racist harassment while she was in a middle school that belonged to the district, The Express reported.
The discrimination started in 2018, according to the complaint. The suit detailed specific instances when the child was called a Black girl’s name and a monkey, had “Baa Baa Black Sheep” sung to her, and heard the use of the N-word. Other Black students also reportedly suffered similar treatment.
The claim also states that Swisher reported the hostility to district administrators, but her complaints were met with inaction. None of the offenders were ever disciplined.
The child reportedly suffered “ongoing racial harassment” that was so intense that she suffered a mental breakdown in 2022, forcing her to withdraw from the district entirely, according to reported details from the suit.
U.S. Middle District Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle approved the settlement on Monday, agreeing with the parents that it was in their daughter’s best interest. However, the school did not have to admit liability by settling with the family.
Four school administrators who were named defendants in the case were removed from the complaint last summer.
Of the $50,000 award, $13,349 in attorney fees and other legal fees will be deducted, leaving $36,651 that will be placed in a certificate of deposit the girl will have access to when she turns 18.
The Jersey Shore Area School District, located in rural Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, enrolled more than 2,165 students at its three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school during its 2023-2024 school year.
According to an enrollment report from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 94 percent of those students were white, 0.01 percent were Black, 0.01 percent were Hispanic, and 0.03 percent were multiracial.
News of the settlement has caused a stir in the local community.
“I have no words. It saddens my heart so much to hear this about the school district I graduated from!” said Michele Welshans Tice, who once worked in the school district as a teacher’s aide. “I’m absolutely appalled at these behaviors from the adults in the school systems!! These adults should be protecting students!! In my opinion, if they do not, their hearts are hardened and full of hate.”
District teacher Raye Bierly said she “witnessed bigotry of all kinds throughout my career.”
“Nothing new here. I did my best to squash any such behavior that I was privy to in my classroom. But bullies are smart. Well, devious and sneaky are better words. They do most of their cowardly dirty work outside the earshot of teachers and staff,” she said. “I am happy to hear so many people condemning such behavior by students. … We need to ask, though, how do kids learn that disgusting behavior? They aren’t born racist. A lot starts at home, whether we like to admit it or not.”