Parents at a Prospect Heights elementary school in Brooklyn say school safety agents gave their kids a presentation about bullying that was so graphic some cried and feared they or their classmates would be locked up.
Interviews with multiple parents and students, as well as screenshots of a conversation between more than 10 parents on a message board, depict a recent anti-bullying training that left many children confused, scared and mistrustful of police.
“My child didn’t learn anything about how to prevent bullying, how not to behave like a bully,” said Mary Jane Skelly, whose 6-year-old daughter attended one of the presentations at PS9 Sarah Smith Garnet Elementary School in Prospect Heights in late September. “They just learned that they could go to jail, their parents could go to jail, if they engaged in bullying.”
Six parents said their kids were told stories about a child dying by suicide and five said their kids had learned about a child committing murder after being bullied, with other parents on the message board saying their kids had shared similar details. Three claimed that their children were shown a photo of a bloody knife.
Parents said students in kindergarten through fifth grade attended different versions of the anti-bullying assembly with school safety agents. While some parents said the most violent details seemed to have been left out of the presentations for the youngest children, they said even first graders appeared to have been told that any child 7 or older could go to jail for bullying. Parents said their children were told that if they were younger than seven, their parents could go to jail on their behalf.
State law prohibits bullying in public schools, but a representative from the city’s bullying hotline told a reporter that children are not prosecuted for bullying. The department does investigate all allegations of bullying and refers them to police if they believe the student’s behavior rises to the level of criminal activity.
In at least one of the presentations, several parents said, a school safety agent asked for a student volunteer to demonstrate bullying. A fourth grader who was sitting next to the student who volunteered said the officer then allegedly lifted the child by his armpits and raised him in the air, above the officer’s head. The fourth grader, whose mom asked that they not be identified, was distressed, according to the child’s mother.
“He told his dad that he never wanted to go to middle school, because that’s where the bullies are,” his mom said.
Gothamist reached out to the Department of Education, outlining the students’ details about the presentations.
“The alleged actions by a school safety agent during this presentation are unacceptable. The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority and we are providing the necessary supports and follow-up actions," spokesperson Jenna Lyle said.
Lyle did not comment on the specific allegations nor confirm whether the presentation was city-sanctioned or would be given at other schools. The New York City Police Department, which employs and trains school safety agents, did not respond to a list of questions from Gothamist, including whether officers would be giving similar presentations at other schools across the city. The union that represents school officers declined to comment while it gathered more information.
The school’s principal did not return a phone call from a reporter — DOE employees are barred from speaking with the press without department approval — but three parents said the school quickly took action to reassure students. A summary of an email from the principal shared with Gothamist outlined multiple steps taken after the presentations, including “community circle” meetings, restorative justice training for teachers, and visits from the guidance counselor and social worker. The administration also pledged to vet all assemblies conducted by non-PS9 staff in the future.
‘It doesn’t work’
Dr. Janice Montague, a pediatrician in Rockland County who often talks to her patients and their parents about bullying, said it’s important to have conversations in an age-appropriate manner. She recommended using examples that kids can relate to, like having their Goldfish crackers taken at lunch time every day — not violent suicide or homicide.
Her “mouth dropped open” when a reporter described the school safety agents’ presentation.
“What is the point of scaring them into behaving? It doesn’t work,” Montague said, noting that so-called “Scared Straight” programs have been proven to be ineffective. A 2014 analysis from the U.S. Department of Justice found that juveniles who participated in programs meant to scare them away from delinquency actually committed crimes at higher rates after participating.
Montague was particularly concerned about the power dynamics of school safety agents leading a fear-based anti-bullying training.
“You have a police officer who we’re supposed to respect and [who is supposed to] protect us, and yet this police officer is scaring us into behavior,” she said. “That is going to undermine their trust in these people.”
DOE Chancellor David Banks, who started his education career as a safety agent, has resisted calls to remove police from schools. Last month, the department announced that it was hiring hundreds of additional safety agents to join the thousands already working in city schools.
“They are part of the family and the fabric of any school,” Banks said at a recent public safety town hall at a junior high school in Forest Hills. “They are there for all the right reasons to ensure that our children are safe.”
Skelly’s daughter, Jane Klotz, was already afraid of law enforcement before the school presentation. Over the summer, she hid behind the couch when police pulled out a gun during a stop outside the family’s Prospect Heights apartment. And in 2020, she watched as Black Lives Matter protesters marched through their neighborhood.
After the anti-bullying training, Jane worried one of her classmates could go to jail, because he regularly takes other kids’ crayons. Skelly, a neuroscientist and psychology professor, said she has since talked with her daughter about what bullying means and explained to her that children who act out often just need help or are having a hard time regulating their bodies.
“You shouldn’t lie to kids to scare them,” she said. “You’re not going to go to jail. None of your friends are going to go to jail. Their parents aren’t going to go to jail.”
Jane, dressed in a pale pink leotard and tights after ballet class, said she now understands that bullying means “other people being mean to other people very badly, like, hurting them and teasing them.”
What would Jane do if she saw a friend being bullied?
“I would tell him, ‘Hey, stop that,’” she said. “And if that didn’t work, I would tell a grown up.”
