A Culture of Bullying and Secrecy
For years, The O’Neal School has promised a safe and nurturing environment, but beneath the surface, many families have discovered a culture that protects aggressors, silences victims, and shelters those with power and influence from consequences.
One of the most widespread concerns is the administration’s failure to address bullying. Despite written policies in the handbooks that define and prohibit this type of behavior, parents are routinely told that their children are not being bullied, even when clear evidence is presented. Rather than punishing the aggressors, the response is often to silence or remove the victims, resulting in a concentration of bullies within the school. This has led to an environment where those who bully feel emboldened, knowing they won’t face consequences as long as they deny any misconduct.
“Bullying means unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying may also place a student in actual and reasonable fear of harm to his or her person or damage to his or her property. Bullying behavior is often repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes intentional actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose or any action that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.” – The O’Neal Middle School Handbook (Page 14)
We continue to receive a growing body of feedback from parents, teachers, students, staff, and community members regarding the toxic culture within The O’Neal School. Some of this feedback was highlighted in our March 2024 article “Voices of Discontent,” but additional stories and experiences shared since then echo the same disturbing themes: