“I want justice for my child. I want this not to go unhandled. If there are more students out there going through it as well,” said Marbella Carranza.
GAINESVILLE, Texas — On a bitter cold day in Cooke County, a Gainesville family buried their 11-year-old girl while battling the anger and bitterness of believing that school bullying over her immigrati on status may have led her to take her own life.
Jocelynn Rojo Carranza was a sixth grader who loved to dance and sing, and loved to play with her siblings in her Gainesville backyard.
“And that’s how I’m going to remember her,” her mother, Marbella Carranza, told WFAA just hours after the funeral service in a standing room only sanctuary at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, the same church where she was baptized as an infant.
“We are here to offer thanksgiving for the life of Jocelynn,” said Father John Pacheco at the funeral mass. “Because Jocelyn will be remembered forever.”
Jocelyn died Feb. 8, five days after she attempted suicide at her home in Gainesville. She would have been 12 this June.
“It’s true,” Carranza said through a translator. “It started on the bus. There was a situation on the bus where that started.”
She says that bullying got so bad at Gainesville Intermediate School that Jocelyn was meeting with a school counselor several times a week. But Jocelynn’s mom says she only learned that after the suicide attempt. She says she learned that fellow students taunted her about immigration and what it would be like if her parents were deported.
“They would tell her ICE was going to come and get her parents and she was going to be here alone,” Carranza said. “The rumors that have been said up to now it was because her parents being immigrants, them being immigrants.”
The Gainesville Independent School District would not comment on Jocelynn’s specific case. But in a written statement to WFAA said:
“The top priority of the Gainesville ISD is to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for all students. Because of this, we take any reports of bullying at our schools very seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy.
Whenever we receive a report of bullying, we respond swiftly to ensure all students are safe physically and emotionally. While we cannot release any information about specific students or incidents, our schools have several policies in place to combat bullying and resolve conflicts.
These policies provide opportunities to report such behavior. If a report arises, the District immediately takes all steps necessary to respond appropriately. We have been, and will continue to be proactive in our efforts to make sure our schools are safe, secure, and free from harassment.“
“Why didn’t they ever inform me what was happening at school with my daughter?” Carranza said. “I want justice for my child. I want this not to go unhandled. If there are more students out there going through it as well. Pay attention. The school needs to pay attention.”
