DeKalb schools report aims to detail bullying case Wednesday

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By KRISTINA TORRES

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Masika Bermudez's handwritten note is a plea, summary and accusation all rolled into one paragraph, dated the day after her 11-year-old son took his own life:

Shortly after Jaheem Herrera hanged himself in April, friends posted a memorial to him on the door where he lived. A vigil in his memory was also held.

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"Everytime I came to the school and complain it never stop." A student Bermudez identified by name "constantly teased" Jaheem Herrera "and called him gay ... all these things were bothering my baby."

DeKalb County school officials Wednesday will answer her. For the first time, they will talk in detail about what happened in the months before Jaheem died.

Their report is to be made public at a 10 a.m. news conference.

Jaheem, who attended Dunaire Elementary School in Stone Mountain, hanged himself April 16.

What did school officials know? Bermudez, DeKalb officials say, wrote her note April 17 and gave it to his teacher. She insists her complaints started much earlier, but when? Whom did she talk to?

The school system's lawyers released the note along with six signed statements by Jaheem's teachers and staff as requested by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the Georgia Open Records Act.

Based on those documents and what Bermudez, family and friends have said, this is what we know:

Another student bullied Jaheem in the bathroom during a holiday party in December. A staff member found out about it in January from other students. During the fight, the student put Jaheem in a "sleeper" hold, and he passed out. That student was suspended, and the staff member said Jaheem afterward said he was not having any more problems.

Jaheem's two best friends and his sister said they witnessed him being called "gay," including on the day he died. His teachers, however, said they did not see or hear bullying or harassment directed at Jaheem and that he appeared well-liked by classmates.

Bermudez said she went to the school several times to complain. It is not clear whom she talked to. Jaheem's teachers said Bermudez said nothing to them about her concerns in the few brief conversations she had with them. Several teachers said Bermudez did not attend scheduled parent-teacher conferences and did not ask to meet informally.

At the time of Jaheem's death, his family had moved to an apartment complex in unincorporated Decatur. The complex is zoned for a different school, Rainbow Elementary. It is not clear whether Bermudez tried or wanted to enroll her children at Rainbow or knew that was an option.

Other families have stepped forward to complain about bullying at Dunaire. Today's report, overseen by retired Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore, is expected to address concerns about the school's culture.

The family's lawyer last week filed an intent to sue the school system for "a substantial amount," alleging negligence by Dunaire school officials.

DeKalb District Attorney Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming has also reached out to Bermudez for an informal review of the case. A spokeswoman for Keyes Fleming said Tuesday that she has not heard back from the family.