Quick-thinking school administrators in Texas save the life of a bullied teen in Virginia
School administrators at an elementary school in Texas were able to save the life of a
young girl in Virginia who admitted to them that she had overdosed on pills in an
attempt to commit suicide.
young girl in Virginia who admitted to them that she had overdosed on pills in an
attempt to commit suicide.
Here's what we know
The app, STOPit, allows students to quickly report bullying. The app is designed to
put students anonymously in touch with school administrators who can help them,
but somehow this time it sent a young Virginia girl's message in December to school
administrators in Frisco, Texas, instead of her own school district.
put students anonymously in touch with school administrators who can help them,
but somehow this time it sent a young Virginia girl's message in December to school
administrators in Frisco, Texas, instead of her own school district.
The girl told the school administrators that she was being bullied.
"She was telling me about a situation that was happening with her and some other
girls at the school and how it was making her feel," Jess Johnson, the assistant
principal at Ashley Elementary in Frisco told KXAS-TV. She also told them that she
lived in Waynesboro, Virginia — 1,176 miles away, according to Google Maps.
girls at the school and how it was making her feel," Jess Johnson, the assistant
principal at Ashley Elementary in Frisco told KXAS-TV. She also told them that she
lived in Waynesboro, Virginia — 1,176 miles away, according to Google Maps.
As school administrators talked with her, the girl confessed that she had tried to kill
herself and had taken pills. The administrator could tell that she started to respond
more slowly.
herself and had taken pills. The administrator could tell that she started to respond
more slowly.
Students who use the app are anonymous so that they can report bullying without
fear, but the administrators knew that they had limited time to find out exactly where
this student lived if they wanted to save her life.
fear, but the administrators knew that they had limited time to find out exactly where
this student lived if they wanted to save her life.
"I don't really know if you can describe that feeling. It is something that's very
surreal. The urgency to help this child that you don't know, that you know she needs
help now," Kim Frankson, the school principal, told KXAS.
surreal. The urgency to help this child that you don't know, that you know she needs
help now," Kim Frankson, the school principal, told KXAS.
Thankfully, the administrators managed to figure out exactly where the girl was
calling from, and alerted authorities. Waynesboro police hurried to the home and
found her alone and distressed, but thankfully still alert.
calling from, and alerted authorities. Waynesboro police hurried to the home and
found her alone and distressed, but thankfully still alert.
"I think we all just looked at each other and it was like we could take a deep breath
that we had helped this girl," Johnson told KXAS.
that we had helped this girl," Johnson told KXAS.
