Mortellus
Sep 11, 2023
A former Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy parent described withdrawing her daughter after multiple experiences she characterized as bullying, including being cornered and struck by another student in the library and a later incident in which classmates surrounded a bathroom stall while the child was changing for physical education. The parent also criticized what she regarded as inadequate adult supervision at the school.
What happened: On September 11, 2023, Priscilla Poulin publicly described a series of troubling experiences involving her daughter while the child attended Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy.
Poulin's statement appeared in the Facebook group Rutherfordton, Forest City and Spindale, North Carolina Town Talk, amid a wider discussion of student safety and TJCA's responses to reported misconduct. According to Poulin, her daughter experienced multiple incidents of bullying during her enrollment. One involved a male student who allegedly cornered and struck her in the school library. Another occurred after the child entered sixth grade. Poulin reported that a group of girls surrounded the bathroom stall where her daughter was changing for physical education and shouted at her to come out, accusing her of being homophobic. Poulin described the latter incident as the final event that led her to withdraw her daughter from TJCA. She also alleged that inadequate supervision by some teachers contributed to bullying going unnoticed.
What was reported:
A student allegedly corners and strikes the child in the library
Poulin identified an incident in the school library as one example of the difficulties her daughter encountered. According to her account, a boy cornered the child and struck her. The statement does not specify the daughter's grade at the time, the nature of any injuries, or whether school staff directly witnessed the incident. It also does not describe what disciplinary action, if any, followed. The allegation nevertheless describes a situation in which a student was physically confronted in a school space ordinarily expected to be supervised and safe.
Sixth-grade changing-area incident becomes the final straw
Poulin described a second incident occurring when her daughter entered middle school in sixth grade. The child was changing for physical education in a bathroom stall when several girls allegedly surrounded the stall and began shouting. According to Poulin, they demanded that her daughter come out and stop being a homophobe. The incident combined intimidation by multiple peers with circumstances in which the child was particularly vulnerable because she was changing clothes. Poulin did not explain what had preceded the confrontation or why the other students made that accusation. The historical significance lies in the conduct she described: a group of students allegedly surrounded a bathroom stall and pressured a child who was trying to change for class. For Poulin, the incident was sufficient to end her daughter's enrollment at the Academy.
Parent criticizes supervision and withdraws her daughter
Poulin did not present the two incidents as isolated difficulties. She characterized bullying as a longstanding problem at TJCA and alleged that some teachers failed to observe student misconduct because they were distracted by their phones while supervising students outdoors.
That criticism was broader than the two specific incidents she described and reflected her personal assessment of the school's supervision practices. Poulin reported that she ultimately removed her daughter from TJCA. She described the withdrawal as a decision she did not regret.
Unlike accounts that end with an unresolved complaint, her testimony documents a concrete family response: removing a child from the school after concluding that the environment was no longer acceptable.
Why the incident matters: Poulin's testimony is distinctive because it describes bullying in two different school environments. The library incident involved alleged physical aggression by an individual student. The changing-area incident involved intimidation by a group of peers in a space where a child reasonably expects privacy. Both raise questions about supervision, intervention, and the extent to which students were protected from harassment during ordinary school activities. The changing-area account also highlights the importance of treating student privacy as part of school safety. A child should be able to change for physical education without being surrounded, confronted, or pressured by classmates. Poulin's account illustrates how separate incidents can accumulate until a parent no longer trusts a school to provide a safe environment for their child. Her decision to withdraw her daughter is an important part of that history, demonstrating the consequences she believed the school's handling of bullying had for her family.
Original evidence:
Rutherfordton, Forest City and Spindale, North Carolina Town Talk.pdf, p. 36. September 11, 2023 community discussion containing Priscilla Poulin's firsthand account of a library assault, intimidation while her daughter was changing for physical education, concerns about staff supervision, and her decision to withdraw the child.
Scott Carpenter, The Daily Courier, September 15, 2023, "Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy accused of not taking allegations seriously enough." Contemporary reporting on the separate student safety controversy that generated broader community discussion.
Subsequent developments: Poulin reported that she withdrew her daughter from TJCA following the incidents. The statement does not identify the academic year in which the events occurred or establish whether the parent pursued a formal grievance before withdrawing the child. The September 2023 discussion does not contain a direct response from TJCA to Poulin's allegations. Other participants in the same discussion also described withdrawing children following alleged bullying, indicating that Poulin's experience was among several concerns being raised publicly. However, her account is preserved separately because the circumstances she described involved specific locations, types of conduct, and a clear decision to leave the school.
TJCATruth.com welcomes historical student supervision policies, procedures governing changing areas and physical education, and firsthand accounts concerning how students reported bullying or intimidation in less visible areas of the campus.
Report from the community: Priscilla Poulin's September 2023 statement provides a firsthand parental account of her daughter's experiences at TJCA. She described physical aggression in the library, a later confrontation involving multiple students outside a bathroom stall, and concerns about inadequate supervision. She also confirmed that she withdrew her daughter because of those experiences. Her testimony preserves the perspective of a parent who concluded that the school's environment was not sufficiently safe for her child. The source does not include statements from the students involved, the relevant teachers, or school administrators. TJCATruth.com welcomes additional accounts from individuals with direct knowledge of these incidents or comparable experiences involving student supervision, bullying, physical education, or changing-area privacy. Individuals with relevant firsthand experiences are encouraged to contact TJCATruth.com. Requests for anonymity will be respected, and identifying information will not be published without the contributor's explicit consent. All submissions will be handled with discretion and confidentiality.