“There was never a bullying report. She was not being seen for bullying,” the GISD superintendent tells radio station KGAF of claims the girl was seeing a counselor.
GAINESVILLE, Texas — Activists are demanding accountability from the Gainesville Independent School District after the suicide of an 11-year-old girl, allegedly because of bullying about her family’s immigration status.
The GISD superintendent, however, says staff at Gainesville Intermediate School was unaware of the bullying allegations until after Jocelynn Rojo Carranza’s death.
The 6th grader died February 8, in a Dallas hospital, five days after her family found her at home.
Family and friends filled St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Gainesville Wednesday morning, the same church where Jocelynn was baptized as an infant. She would have been 12 years old this June.
“I want justice for my child,” Jocelynn’s mom Marbella Carranza said later that afternoon. “I want this not to go on unhandled.”
Carranza told WFAA she learned after her daughter’s suicide that she had been bullied at Gainesville Intermediate School. She says that classmates told her, in altercations that started on a school bus, that she was teased and taunted that immigration agents might come to take her immigrant parents away.
“They would tell her ICE was going to come and get her parents, and she was going to be here alone,” Carranza said.
The school district responded Wednesday only with a written statement with no mention of what Jocelynn allegedly endured. But Superintendent Dr. DesMontes Stewart did talk to Gainesville radio station KGAF. In recorded interviews, he says the school was unaware of the bullying until after Jocelynn’s death.
“Students started coming to the table to make the administration aware of kind of what’s taking place so that we then found out at that particular moment that there was indeed some ongoing, bantering and, issues back and forth,” Stewart told KGAF. He also said that Jocelynn was not seeing a school counselor about bullying, as her family claims.
“She was part of a group to help with coping skills. She wanted to go, for coping skills,” Stewart told KGAF. “That was nothing related to bullying. And there was never a bullying report. She was not being seen for bullying.”
In response to an interview request from WFAA, Stewart responded “This is an ongoing investigation and I want to be sure that we are factual in all that we report.”
“I understand that feeling and understand that emotion,” said Bobbi Gilbert of the family’s search for answers and blame.
Her son Pierce Gilbert was 17-years-old when he took his life in Whitewright, Texas in April of 2015. She has since written about the trauma of her son’s death called “Surviving our son’s suicide: Our Year of First Without You.”
Pierce Gilbert was getting counseling. His parents did seek help. His mom says he seemed to be getting better with his anxiety, depression, and sudden inability to control his emotions at school. But a relationship with a girlfriend ended suddenly and she says that Pierce took the breakup badly.
“As a community, I would urge everybody to come together. This will impact everyone,” Bobbi Gilbert said. “And as harsh as this may sound, I think this is a valuable time for the kids and students to take a look at themselves and to take a look at how they are treating one another.”
As for Gainesville, the superintendent tells KGAF that students allegedly involved have been identified and “have been subjected to the GISD student code of conduct.” The school district is conducting its own investigation into the bullying allegations. The Gainesville Police Department is conducting a separate investigation into Jocelynn’s death.
“The Gainesville Police Department extends its deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family for their loss. There are no words that could be spoken to ease their pain. This tragedy impacts not only the family but our entire community including our First Responders that made the scene. Our prayers go out to all of those involved,” Gainesville Police said in a written statement to WFAA.
The police department also says that anyone with information that might help the investigation can contact GPD at (940) 668-7777, or through Facebook at Facebook.com/GTPolice. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact the Crimes Tip Hotline at (940) 612-0000.
Meanwhile, LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens, issued a statement Thursday expressing its condolences for the Carranza family and demanding accountability from the school district.
“Our hearts break for Jocelynn’s family. No child should ever feel so isolated, so tormented, that they believe their only escape is to take their own life. We demand that the authorities fully investigate what led to this tragedy, including the bullying allegations, and hold accountable any adults who failed to act. As mandated reporters, school officials had a duty to protect Jocelynn, and if they did nothing, they should face criminal charges,” said Roman Palomares, LULAC National President and Chairman of the Board.
