Editor's note: The following story contains language which may be unsuitable for some readers.
When Natasha Shakespeare sends her daughter to school, she hopes her daughter is safe.
But the bullying she says her daughter has endured over the past few years at two different Simcoe County schools has become too much to bear.
Shakespeare has come forward as the subject of a widespread blog and social media post put out by Parents Against Racism – Simcoe County and Toronto group Parents of Black Children on Oct. 20, sharing a recent story brought to them of a child who allegedly experienced bullying at a school in Simcoe County.
Her daughter is a Grade 8 student at Forest Hill Public School in Midhurst.
At the end of her first day in September this year, Shakespeare says her daughter discovered a drawing of a noose had been left in her backpack.
“I was thinking, it’s the first day of school and now I’m going to have to be ‘that parent’ to bring this up,” said Shakespeare, noting she took three days to try to figure out how to deal with the incident.
She called the principal at that time to make sure they were aware of the situation, but didn’t demand severe action as she didn’t want her daughter to be singled out in a new school environment.
“Now, I have to say I regret that decision,” said Shakespeare. “If we had handled it differently, would we be here? I don’t know.”
This isn’t the first time Shakespeare says her daughter has experienced anti-Black racism at a Simcoe County school.
Social media, bullying and a $200,000 lawsuit
The Midhurst mom filed a civil lawsuit against the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) on March 22, which alleges the board was negligent in their duty to protect her daughter from racist bullying during her time at Ardagh Bluffs Public School in south-end Barrie.
The lawsuit is asking for damages to the tune of $200,000, plus costs, and alleges that racism and bullying regularly occurs at the school.
The claim outlines an incident in November 2020 where two white students yelled racial slurs at a group of three Black students, including Shakespeare’s daughter. Despite that incident being reported to a teacher, the lawsuit alleges the incident was “brushed off” and no investigation was started, despite Shakespeare calling school administrators.
As a result of Shakespeare’s call, she says one of the offending students was suspended for one day, with no follow-up.
The lawsuit says that one week after this incident, a student posted the n-word on a message board in Google Classroom. Shortly after that, a video surfaced on Snapchat of students using the n-word.
Shakespeare says her daughter continued to report racism and bullying she dealt with at school to her daily.
“Social media has contributed to the environment of racism in the SCDSB. Students at Ardagh Bluffs regularly make TikToks on the social-media platform, and the TikToks regularly feature the n-word,” notes the statement of claim.
Shakespeare says she reported many incidents of bullying to teachers, staff and administration, however was discouraged as she believed the school didn’t take adequate steps to remedy the situation.
As a result of the bullying her daughter experienced, Shakespeare said her daughter sought counselling. In one section of the statement of claim, Shakespeare noted that her daughter told her she didn’t want to be Black.
“I feel every emotion. I feel angry. I feel sad that she feels that way. You feel shocked,” said Shakespeare. “I was thinking, what should I do? My child shouldn’t feel that way. It’s not right.”
As a result of the bullying, the claim notes the student suffered humiliation, loss of dignity, and serious damages to her self-confidence.
BarrieToday was unable to obtain a statement of defence in the lawsuit from the school board by publication time. The lawsuit is still pending and none of the allegations have been proven in court.
This summer, Shakespeare and her family moved to Midhurst for reasons unrelated to the bullying her daughter was experiencing. This meant her daughter would have to switch schools, a change she had hoped would mean her daughter could leave behind the painful memories of what happened to her at Ardagh Bluffs and have a fresh start.
History repeated
After the note with the noose drawing, Shakespeare says the notes and bullying escalated throughout September and into October, although clarifies she doesn’t have all the notes her daughter received from her tormentors as her daughter threw many away. Two of the notes her daughter received in mid-October, however, were kept.
The first note reads, “Go kill yourself dick head” with a racial slur on the bottom. The second note reads, “Shut up, I’ll rape you in the bathroom.”
There were also instances of bullying in group chats online between students that referenced Shakespeare’s daughter.
On Oct. 20, Parents Against Racism – Simcoe County (of which Shakespeare is a founder) and Toronto-based group Parents of Black Children shared Shakespeare’s story while redacting her identity and the name of the school in order to raise awareness about the issue.
“I’m so grateful to have the support of Parents of Black Children. It feels like a battle. They asked if they could share (our story) so people could understand what’s happening,” she said.
Meanwhile, the school board launched an investigation into the incident. To read our initial story on the school board’s investigation, click here.
In a letter sent home to Forest Hill families on Oct. 28 and a statement provided to BarrieToday, the school board referenced the incident but said they are not able to comment further on details due to privacy.
“It is important to stress that any incident of this nature is treated very seriously with immediate action and consequences. Reported situations that involve acts of racism, bias or hate are thoroughly investigated by school administration and the central Equity, Diversity and Inclusion department, and may include the support of outside agencies and community partners,” noted superintendent of education Susan Sidlofsky, who signed the letter.
“Resources are put in place by the SCDSB Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Well-being and Central Program departments to support any student or staff who experience an occurrence of trauma,” she wrote.
The letter also notes a new principal has been put in place at Forest Hill as of Nov. 1.
After the incident, there were two students suspended for a two-and-a-half-week period. Shakespeare says that on those students’ first day back post-suspension, her daughter says she was targeted by one of them at recess, where he yelled racist and homophobic slurs at her and threw sports equipment.
Shakespeare said her daughter also shared more Snapchat and text messages sent between students about the situation.
“They were asking her, why are you doing this? Basically, victim-blaming,” said Shakespeare.
As a result, Shakespeare’s family made the decision to pull their daughter from in-class learning until they could make sure the school had a proper plan in place to protect her.
After an outpouring of support from the community through the Oct. 20 social media posting, Shakespeare made the decision to speak publicly.
“That was a hard decision. We’re a private family,” said Shakespeare.
As of this week, Shakespeare says the school board has worked with her family to come up with a safety plan, and have committed to having a third-party conduct an external investigation. As such, her daughter has returned to in-class learning as of Nov. 10.
“We’re comfortable with trying,” she said. “I just want my kid to be safe. There is, very obviously, hate in our communities. It shouldn’t have to be headline news. You should never have to go through this process so your child can feel safe at school.”
Tomorrow, a Safety in Schools Rally will be held in downtown Barrie. Shakespeare hopes that sharing her story might encourage others to share theirs and, in turn, could inspire systemic change.
“My situation is already public. People coming forward and sharing what they’re experiencing or have experienced is equally as horrific,” said Shakespeare.
The Safety in Schools Rally, organized by Parents Against Racism – Simcoe County, Uplift Black and Parents of Black Children, takes place Friday, Nov. 12 from 2-5 p.m. at Meridian Place, 30 Simcoe St., in Barrie.
For more information on the rally, contact Gillian Scobie at [email protected].
