South Hadley High School
Encyclopedia
South Hadley High School is a secondary school in South Hadley, Massachusetts
for students in grades 9–12. The school has a student population of just over 700. The school's name is frequently referred to as "SHHS". In January 2010, the school became known across the United States and internationally for a series of bullying incidents that led to the suicide of Phoebe Prince.
, Prince had been taunted and bullied for several months by at least two separate groups of students at the school reportedly because of disputes with other girls over her brief relationships with a senior high school football player and a second male student. After an entire day of harassment and taunting, followed by a final incident where a student threw a can at her from a passing car as she walked home from school, Prince committed suicide by hanging herself in the stairwell of the family apartment. Her body was discovered by her 12-year-old sister. Following her death, many crude comments about her were posted on her Facebook
memorial page, most of which were removed. Her parents chose to have Phoebe interred in Ireland.
A meeting held at the school to discuss the problem of bullying at the school brought parents who stated that bullying of their children had been completely ignored by the school administration. Massachusetts state lawmakers have sped up efforts to pass anti-bullying legislation
as a result of this incident.
On March 29, 2010, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel announced that six teenagers from South Hadley High School had been had been indicted on felony charges in connection with the death of Phoebe Prince. Four of the six indicted teenagers were reportedly still attending South Hadley High School at the time of the indictments.
The case of Phoebe Prince has ignited a firestorm of controversy over the perceived lack of responsibility and oversight from South Hadley school officials, in particular Principal Daniel Smith, Superintendent Gus Sayer, and School Committee Chairman Edward Boiselle. Comments from parents of students at the school have revealed both past and ongoing failures of oversight by school administrators and staff. The case has spotlighted the need to raise awareness among school administrators of the potential for bullying in an era of increasing permissiveness.
South Hadley, Massachusetts
South Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,514 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
for students in grades 9–12. The school has a student population of just over 700. The school's name is frequently referred to as "SHHS". In January 2010, the school became known across the United States and internationally for a series of bullying incidents that led to the suicide of Phoebe Prince.
Bullying incident
South Hadley High School came to the attention of the national and international news media as the result of the suicide of freshman student Phoebe Prince on January 14, 2010. A recent immigrant from IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Prince had been taunted and bullied for several months by at least two separate groups of students at the school reportedly because of disputes with other girls over her brief relationships with a senior high school football player and a second male student. After an entire day of harassment and taunting, followed by a final incident where a student threw a can at her from a passing car as she walked home from school, Prince committed suicide by hanging herself in the stairwell of the family apartment. Her body was discovered by her 12-year-old sister. Following her death, many crude comments about her were posted on her Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
memorial page, most of which were removed. Her parents chose to have Phoebe interred in Ireland.
A meeting held at the school to discuss the problem of bullying at the school brought parents who stated that bullying of their children had been completely ignored by the school administration. Massachusetts state lawmakers have sped up efforts to pass anti-bullying legislation
Anti-bullying legislation
-History:Forty-seven states in the United States have passed school anti-bullying legislation, the first being Georgia in 1999. The two states without anti-bullying legislation are Michigan, and Montana. A watchdog organization called Bully Police USA advocates for and reports on anti-bullying...
as a result of this incident.
On March 29, 2010, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel announced that six teenagers from South Hadley High School had been had been indicted on felony charges in connection with the death of Phoebe Prince. Four of the six indicted teenagers were reportedly still attending South Hadley High School at the time of the indictments.
The case of Phoebe Prince has ignited a firestorm of controversy over the perceived lack of responsibility and oversight from South Hadley school officials, in particular Principal Daniel Smith, Superintendent Gus Sayer, and School Committee Chairman Edward Boiselle. Comments from parents of students at the school have revealed both past and ongoing failures of oversight by school administrators and staff. The case has spotlighted the need to raise awareness among school administrators of the potential for bullying in an era of increasing permissiveness.