Dad: Boy wanted out:
The father of one of the two kids that are accused of plotting to shoot up the Lawrence County alternative school in Alabama claims that he feels his son wanted to get caught. Jeff Coffey says that he believes his son told another student so he would be caught and expelled…
“I believe (my son) wanted to get caught and get thrown out of school,” said Coffey, a Courtland resident and single father who has custody of his son and daughter. “The kids were against him, some of the teachers were against him. He told Larry (Montgomery) in the statement, ‘All I wanted them to do was leave me alone.’ ”
Coffey said his son was in the alternative school because he could not find his niche at Hazlewood High School, and became the target of bullies and unsympathetic teachers.
“He didn’t fit in with the smart kids, he didn’t fit in with the jocks, and he was not into music,” Coffey said. “Usually when that happens, kids end up with the thugs. He didn’t want any part of that. He was on an island.”
A combination of adolescent confusion, problems with his grades and an inability to cope with high school in the seventh grade took its toll on his son, Coffey said.
He denied reports that his son planned to kill him, but said the teen could have been upset because he was firm with him.
“I do make him mind,” Coffey said. “I don’t beat on him. He does get his butt whipped, but it hasn’t been in a while.”
He also addresses the issue of bullying…
Coffey said his son complained about being bullied at Hazlewood and that a larger student went unpunished for lifting him above his head and slamming him to the ground. Coffey also said a talk with the principal about the alleged harassment didn’t help.
Coffey said his son wanted to quit school, but his father and the principal wanted him to attend the alternative school.
“His grades came up, his attitude changed and he got involved in his school work,” Coffey said. “Then it (the harassment) started happening up there. He told me, ‘Daddy, they’re picking on me.’ I said, ‘Son, we’ve already been through that.’ I think he sort of wound up on an island there, too. Next year, I was going to try to get him in Christian school.”
Other students reportedly picked on the teens at the alternative school because they wore black, Goth-style clothing. Coffey acknowledged the clothing and said his son, “never went skinhead or totally prejudiced.”
I guess I can take B. off of the disclaimer for this one because it sounds like a single dad doing the best he could. However I don’t know if I buy his son trying to get himself expelled. There has to be other ways to get expelled without looking at jail time. As far as the bullying goes we’re only getting one side of the story. I went to the school district’s website in order to contact somebody there via e-mail about their bullying policies but there was no e-mail info. However I did find the school philosophy…
In order to prepare Lawrence County Students to function as productive citizens, we will provide a quality education in a safe and pleasant learning environment.
If the bullying accusations are true then Lawrence County Schools woefully fell short on their promise.
More on this if anything develops.
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