Boy, 8, Attempts Suicide At Houston School

HOUSTON - An eight-year-old boy tried to commit suicide at an Houston elementary school by jumping off a second-story balcony. His mother says he jumped in front of other students.

Yamshantta Robertson says her son was tired of being bullied at Blackshear Elementary School in the historic Third Ward. On Friday, district leaders met with Robertson to discuss the situation.

Since September, the mother says she's been trying to get her eight-year-old son's teachers to put an end to the teasing.

"My son has dyslexia. They call him stupid. They call him dumb. The things they (teachers) said was, 'We'll deal with it. We'll handle it,'" said Robertson.

Robertson says she made seven different trips to the school but believes her complaints fell on deaf ears. On Wednesday the desperate boy jumped off the balcony after two boys pulled down his pants.

"I thought I lost my child, and my child is my life," said Robertson.

The boy was not physically hurt. Activist Quannel X says school staff then told the boy to sign a "No Suicide Contract," agreeing to not "kill, harm or injure myself" before speaking with a caring adult.

"This is a baby that knows nothing about the language in this contract, can not even comprehend some of the words in this contract," said Quannel X.

District spokesman Norm Uhl says the contract is routinely used in schools.

"It's standard policy in most school districts and has been for years. It's a useful procedure. It's a discussion starter when you're talking to kids who may be at risk. We might change the wording to make it more age appropriate. We're taking a look at that," said Uhl.

Uhl can't discuss specifics of the case at Blackshear but says the principal only learned of the bullying situation after the suicide attempt. She held a school wide assembly the next day to talk about the issue.

"I don't want this to happen to anybody else's child. Ever," said Robertson.

Robertson doesn't blame the bullies but the adults around them. She says if they'd been stopped from the start her son would not be left with such deep emotional scars. The mother plans to transfer her son to a different school.

Quannel X says a teacher was disciplined for not reporting the bullying to the principal. The district plans to send home a letter with students outlining steps parents should take when reporting bullying. Those steps include keeping a paper trail of instances and reports made, reporting the bullying to a teacher and following up with a principal or other authority figure if nothing changes. Uhl says a risk management team is looking at the balcony at Blackshear Elementary to see if anything can be done to make it more secure.