Bullied girl back in class but with her mother

TORONTO – Harley Campos – a bullied 11-year-old girl whose mother had pulled her from school – is back in class at Earl Haig Public School, but with one condition: her mother is in class with her.

“At least Harley’s in school—it’s important that she gets her education,” Jill Trahan-Hardy, Harley’s mother, said.

Trahan-Hardy pulled her daughter from school last week after she felt school staff failed to address so-called bullying concerns.

A friend of Harley’s recorded audio that captured the alleged bullying incident, in which two girls can be heard threatening the young girl.

Now, Harley is back in school, accompanied by her mother.

“To and from recess, lunch,” Trahan-Hardy said. “During school hours I’m in the library helping out in the library, and then I go up to the class and pick her up and take her to whatever other class.”

Harleysaid it’s weird having her mother with her, though she feels safer.

But some experts question whether the endless parental supervision will fix anything.

“It’s not helping the child, the kids who bully, or the bystanders,” said Dr. Faye Misha, Dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Social Work. “It’s not helping them learn how to deal with it and that’s what really needs to happen.”

Misha added that Harley’s mother accompanying her daughter seems like a “desperate, last stand position,” and Trahan-Hardy agrees.

“You do what you have to do to protect your child.  If I had to go further, I would’ve gone further,” Trahan-Hardy said. “And I’ll do anything I have to do to make sure my child’s safe.”

Early Haig Public School’s Supervisor and Trustee did not respond to interview requests.

The Toronto District School Board told Global News in a statement: “For privacy reasons, we cannot provide details about specific students.”