Bullied 9-year-old expelled from private school after mom complains about her being repeatedly kicked, pushed and hit
A nine-year-old girl from California who complained to her mother about being bullied at school has reportedly been expelled from the private educational institution. The founder of the school has claimed that the measure was taken after the girl's mother confronted teachers and students as staffers failed to take action in the case.
The girl, Elegance Wolley, had reportedly complained to her parents about two girls picking on her since September 2018 at Northern Light School where annual fees start at $12,700.
The child claimed that they kicked, her pushed and hit her, and also pulled out some of her braided hair extensions. Elegance Instagram profile calls her a "Runway/Aspiring kid Model/Actress/Singer."
Elegance's parents, Tiffany and Edward Wooley, have said that the school did not take any action despite them complaining nearly 10 to 12 times about their daughter's troubles at the school concerning the two grade-four girls.
The parents claim that the school ignored five months of calls and texts and they eventually managed to arrange a meeting between teachers, the dean and founder Michelle Lewis on March 29, according to the Daily Mail.
Just a few days after Tiffany slammed the staff's lack of action in the meeting, the school terminated Elegance's contract on April 2.
The founder, however, claims that the parents met with teachers on two occasions before Elegance's expulsion and alleged that her mother went as far as taking matters into her own hands.
"What happened is that there were incidents that the mom (Tiffany Wooley) claimed happened that didn't and she came in — and in the middle of some classes — and went in and verbally accosted the kids and then our teachers," Lewis alleged to East Bay Times.
"I said to her, basically, 'Tiffany, you can't be doing this. This is not how we do things at Northern Light' and I said, 'You have to trust that we can handle things. If you can't and abide by our rules — which is not going in the middle of the class and accosting teachers and kids — then this is not the place for you'."
The mother, however, has denied the allegations, saying: "For me to speak up (at the meeting) after the 12th time — I'm the bad person? I'll take that, but what I won't allow you to do is expel my daughter and have her live in hell."
Tiffany said that she did enter the school with a dean who is also a teacher but did not yell at anyone. "I would never do that. I run a business. I would never let any customer in and harass the staff. That's not even who I am," the mother said.
Elegance's father Edward popularly goes name Chef Smelly and runs the well-known Smelly's Creole and Soul Food Catering which has garnered thousands of social media followers owing to its popularity.
The Wooleys are now talking to legal experts and demanding an apology from the school for the incident. The local community has shown support for the family as some locals even staged a protest outside the school on May 1.