Foxboro Elementary: Mother blames bullying and racism at Utah school for suicide of autistic girl
An elementary school is currently facing massive backlash from a parent, following the death of a 10-year-old student by suicide. Brittany Tichenor had strong words for Foxboro Elementary School, accusing it of not doing enough to protect her daughter, Isabella Faith Tichenor. On Saturday, November 6, 2021, Isabella was found hanging in a closet at the Tichenor home in North Salt Lake, allegedly because she was being bullied.
A study we reported on in 2020 indicated that children who are neglected or abused are three times more likely to attempt suicide, a frightening aspect that is only becoming more common. Back in September 2019, autistic Joel Langford was 17 when he died by suicide, again blaming bullying at school. Then in February 2020, a 12-year-old in Nashville also died by suicide, as a result of bullying because she was a special needs student.
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Worryingly, the rate of suicide almost those aged 10 to 24 increased by a whopping 60% between 2007 and 2018, according to the CDC. There's no single clear factor responsible for that rise, but in the case of Isabella, her mother is convinced it is because the school didn't do enough to prevent bullying. That is despite an intervention by the Department of Justice, which has been working with the school district for two years on numerous allegations of racism and bullying.
'She was an easy target'
Brittany alleged that Isabella was a victim of bullying because she was both Black, and an autistic student. "She was an easy target especially after a teacher joined in mocking this young lady," the family said in a statement. She further alleged other children recognized that Isabella was different, which only led to more bullying. "As any parent would, we reported this abuse to her teachers, the school administration, and the district administration. Nothing. Nothing was done to protect Izzy."
At an informal news conference after Isabella was found, Brittany said, "Nobody has done anything. This proves (school personnel) don’t know what a child is going through mentally, and a parent has to find their child hanging from a closet." The family's attorney added that Isabella's siblings have also been frequently targeted at the Foxboro Elementary School, with one of them even being called the n-word. "The offending student was not disciplined in any way. We are investigating the school’s lack of response but cannot say more about it at this time," the lawyer added.
In response, the school district issued a statement saying, "We take all incidents and reports of bullying seriously. At this point, the incident we are aware of involved another student. The teacher and administration responded quickly and appropriately. As with all allegations of bullying, our investigation will continue." Foxboro is part of the Davis School District, which has been under investigation by the DoJ for two years.
In October 2021, the DoJ announced the results of the probe, finding that "Many Black students said the harassment was so pervasive and happened so often in front of adults that they concluded school employees condoned the behavior and believed reporting it further would be futile." It also slammed the district of its "ineffective response" for years, which has led to widespread racism and harassment of Black and Asian-American students by both students and staff.
"She was a bright, brilliant, and intelligent young girl. With the brightest smile and always loved to hug and give love," Brittany noted. She added, "Even though my baby is gone, I’m going to make sure that I stand for Izzy and for voices that can’t be heard so that this will never happen again." A GoFundMe for Isabella has raised over $43,000 of its $50,000 goal at the time of publication, with the money being used for her funeral expenses.
If you or anyone you know needs help, please do call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-8255.