Boston

Laptops Allegedly Used in 3 Recent Attacks on Students in Boston Schools

A Boston woman whose 13-year-old daughter required stitches after she was attacked at school with a Chromebook is criticizing Boston Public Schools' handling of the situation

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A handful of attacks reported at Boston schools have involved laptops.

Boston Public Schools provide Chromebooks to students, and the computers have allegedly been used in attacks on classmates.

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One 13-year-old girl required stitches, and her mother, Karen Pham, says the situation has been mishandled.

"My daughter feels as if she's the one being punished," Pham said.

The girl suffered a serious cut on her head after getting hit with a Chromebook at school. The Dorchester mother says the school never notified police about what happened.

"It's absolute trash the way they're handling it," Pham said.

As first reported in The Boston Globe, three students were recently hurt after apparently getting assaulted with Chromebooks, raising concerns about when the schools ask the police to get involved.

"The police should've been called," said John Peck, an attorney representing the Pham family. "The onus, the burden should not have been on the mom to fix the situation."

A student at the McKinley Middle school was accused of injuring a teacher this month by throwing a cup of boiling noodles at her face. The police report indicates the school did not inform law enforcement.

"We will call the police when we need to, when we think that it raises to that level, and then we will work with our families and work with our code of conduct with our school leaders," said Superintendent Brenda Cassellius.

The superintendent says says there are protocols, but the decision to involve police remains a judgement call for school leaders.

"Am I comfortable? I mean, I'm a mom with kids in the schools, I want there to be no incidents anywhere across the city," Mayor Michelle Wu said.

The mayor says school violence has not increased as compared to previous years. Still, Pham says more should have been done to keep her daughter safe.

"I just feel like they didn't handle it correctly," Pham said.

Pham's daughter has returned to the classroom, but the family has filed a claim against Boston Public Schools.

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