CLEARFIELD -- South Clearfield Elementary School administrators want to reassure parents that their children are in a safe learning environment.
Principal Daren Allred and Administrative Intern Mike Page spoke Tuesday about what happened to Breanna Jollerson on Nov. 8 and their actions following the attack.
"First of all, we feel bad whenever a student is injured or hurt," Allred said. "We take it personally to keep this school safe so it will be a good learning environment for our students."
Allred said since first-grader Breanna Jollerson has returned to school, the community has showered the 7-year-old with gifts.
But parents have contacted school administrators, expressing concerns about the impression that the school is no longer safe.
Allred said school administrators are working with Davis School District officials so "the right decisions" will be made concerning the 6-year-old boy who has attacked Breanna several times in the past two months.
"We know he has behavioral problems, and we're working through the proper procedures to get the proper placement and support he needs to control his behavior," Allred said.
Allred said steps had been taken so the boy was monitored during recess following previous attacks. Also, administrators have been working with the boy's teacher, the school's psychologist and counselor and his parents to get him help.
Allred said administrators are taking full responsibility and blame for not calling Breanna's parents as soon as possible following the attack.
That attack occurred Nov. 8, when Breanna, daughter of Patrick Jollerson of Harrisville and Jennifer Jollerson of Clearfield, was pushed by the boy, who was her classmate, and she hit her face on the concrete.
Allred said the incident happened before school started and, contrary to what has been reported in some news stories, three adults were on the playground, which is customary.
The 6-year-old boy reported the incident to the adults, saying Breanna had hurt her face, Allred said.
One of those adults was Page, who took Breanna to the office and checked her face. Breanna then stayed in the school's sick room, where administrators and office staff could see her.
But she didn't stay long, Allred said. When administrators went to check on her within minutes after the bell rang, she was gone.
Administrators spent most of the day dealing with the boy, as well as several other issues.
When administrators finished dealing with the boy and contacting his parents, administrators then called Breanna's parents to notify them of the fall.
"We had no idea how serious her injury was," Allred said. "We felt that because she requested to go back to class, she felt fine and that it was not an urgent matter."
"It's no excuse, but an explanation of what happened," he said. "We take full responsibility and recognize we should have called immediately."
"We felt horrible about what happened," Page said. "We've literally lost sleep over it."
The school does have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, but "not everything that happens at the school is bullying," Allred said. "We don't take it lightly. When we hear of a problem, we pull kids in and get both sides of the story. Most of the time, it's a tiff on the playground."
Allred said administrators, teachers and staff at the school see "tons of injuries" every year with elementary students and have "taken it too casually."
At South Clearfield Elementary 570 students are enrolled.
Allred said he met with teachers Friday and everyone has been told when a child gets a bump on the head, parents are to be called immediately.
He said, "We honestly had no idea how serious it was."
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