Outrage as six-year-old boy is forced to eat lunch alone behind a screen

Outrage as six-year-old boy is forced to eat lunch alone behind a screen after his parents dropped him off late to school

First-grader Hunter Cmelo was forced to sit alone behind a cardboard divider to eat his lunch after he was late to school in Grants Pass, Oregon
His family said the boy was humiliated and went home in tears
His grandmother shared an image of the punishment to Facebook and the school started receiving hundreds of threats and complaints
The principal has now met with the parents and the district has agreed to stop using the divider
Parents have expressed their outrage at how a six-year-old boy was forced to eat his school lunch alone behind a screen after his parents dropped him off late.

Lincoln Elementary School in Grants Pass, Oregon has been forced to change its tardiness policy after an image of the punishment was shared thousands of times on Facebook – sparking hundreds of complaints.

In the photograph, Hunter Cmelo, a first grader at the school, can be seen sitting alone behind a cardboard divider at a cafeteria table. Close by is a cup with a large letter ‘D’ for ‘detention’.

His grandmother, Laura Hoover, shared the image to her Facebook page on Wednesday.
‘This is my grandson, Hunter. He’s a little first grader,’ she wrote. ‘His momma’s car sometimes doesn’t like to start right up. Sometimes he’s a couple of minutes late to school.

‘Yesterday, he was 1 minute late and this is what his momma discovered they do to punish him! They have done this to him 6 times for something that is out of his control! They make a mockery of him in front of the other students.’

She said that his mother found Hunter crying and took him home. His parents said they were devastated when they found out what their son was going through.

‘They are shaming him for something that’s not in his control,’ his father, Mark Cmelo, told KOIN6. ‘It is our fault that he is late.’

His mother, Nicole Garloff, said the punishment has left her son anxious about going to school, and that a few days ago, he began ‘flipping out’ because they were running late.

She said that she has experienced car troubles and suffers from osteoporosis, which can set her back in the mornings.

‘It causes a lot of pain and in the mornings it’s especially hard for me to get going,’ she said.

The boy is unable to ride the school bus because they live within a mile of the school, but they are unable to walk because the road is too busy.

School superintendent John Higgins and principal Missy Fitzsimmons started receiving threatening calls after the photo was shared on Facebook, according to Newswatch 12.

Higgins told the channel he believes the system gave students a chance to catch up on missed work.

The ‘protocol was communicated to parents via newsletter and is intended to provide the students with an above average level of tardiness, supervised additional learning time in a non-distracting setting,’ the district said in a statement. ‘It was never intended to isolate or stigmatize students.’

The principal immediately reached out to the parents after receiving complaints. They met on Thursday and agreed to stop using the partition as a punishment.

‘We are pleased to report the meeting was productive,’ the district said. ‘The parents’ concerns were politely discussed and, ultimately, the issues were resolved to the satisfaction of both parents and the school. All parties involved believe that an appropriate resolution has been reached.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2972459/Outrage-six-year-old-boy-forced-eat-lunch-screen-parents-dropped-late-school.html#ixzz3T5XG1wNF
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