PHOENIX — A Phoenix mother says she is proud of her daughter after standing up for herself at school. We are choosing not to reveal the girl's name for protection reasons, but her mother Korina doesn't generally condone fighting. For weeks, Korina advised her daughter to handle a bully by telling teachers and administrators.
"I told her to walk away, tell a teacher," Korina said after cell phone video of the fight went viral. "She has told a teacher. She told the principal multiple times. I have told the principal myself. My mother has went up there and told the principal and nothing got done," Korina said.
The situation reached a breaking point when Korina says her daughter called for advice during an argument at lunchtime.
12 News has spoken to the mother of one of the other students involved. 12 News is not naming them to protect their privacy. She said that her daughter was never the aggressor and never threatened to bring a weapon. She also wants the school to do more to intervene.
"Shes's crying and at that time I told her, 'You can't walk away. She's not letting you walk away. It's time for you to fight back.'"
In the chaotic cell phone video, Korina's daughter is heard saying, "Hit me first, then," before a one-sided brawl begins.
"Kids are killing themselves all the time because of this. They're being bullied. They're scared to tell. They're scared to stick up for themselves because they're scared they are going to get in trouble and I finally had to tell her, 'You are going to have to do something because these teachers aren't taking this stuff serious,'" Korina said.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Isaac School District says.
"The depicted incident did occur during school hours. Staff responded appropriately following district policies and guidelines.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for middle school students to have disagreements: This specific incident did not escalate to a point where it was necessary to contact the police.
School administrators followed established procedures which included contacting the parents of the students involved and appropriate measures will be taken after our investigation is concluded."
