What parents, schools can do when kids get involved in fights: 'I just don't feel like my kids are safe'

LEESBURG, Fla. - A mother reached out to FOX 35 News, concerned about violence at her kids’ middle school. It turns out she isn’t alone.

Mattey Thompson-Lewis has a son and daughter who both attend Oak Park Middle School in Leesburg. Her son is 14 years old and in 7th grade; her daughter is in 6th grade and has just turned 12. 

"I just don't feel like my kids are safe," Thompson-Lewis told FOX35.

"It's terrifying because I don't know if I'm going to get jumped," her 12-year-old daughter told us.

Xavia Belton’s daughter is 11 years old and in 6th grade at Oak Park. She also found herself in conflict with other students.

"I try to explain myself, and people don't listen," the little girl told FOX 35.

All three of the kids said when they first started at school, they were both excited and nervous. 

"It was fun," the 11-year-old recalled. "It was different. It was bigger than my [elementary] school."

They all said it only took a month or two for things to shift.

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All three of those kids found themselves caught up in a cycle with other students where they said they were bullied, threatened, and eventually met with violence. Some of that was caught on video.

"They just started punching and punching," the 11-year-old recalled. She says she was jumped at school.

The kids’ mothers told FOX 35 News that when their children got hit, they hit their limit.

"I’m in fear of her getting jumped again," said Belton.

There were months’ worth of lead-up to the kids’ fights, and the school tried all sorts of things to avoid it. 

The school hosted meetings between the kids and the kids’ parents, and administrators talked with the parents multiple times. The school also tried something called a No-contact Contract.

Lake County Public School District Superintendent Diane Kornegay explained that it’s an effort to keep the kids apart from each other.

"We ensure that they're not in the same classes. We make sure that they're not transitioning from classes at the same time," Kornegay explained. 

Superintendent Kornegay explained that fights are not unique to Lake County, and they aren’t necessarily worse at schools there than they are anywhere else. 

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says it responded to 30 calls about violent crimes at Oak Park Middle School last year. The Leesburg Police Department got several calls, too, but says the Sheriff’s Office is typically the one to respond, since they have a school resource deputy there.

The Lake County School District counted 16 total fights last school year and 15 already this school year.

"That's an uneasy feeling when you send your kids somewhere where they're supposed to be protected, and you don't feel like they're being protected," said Thompson-Lewis.

Superintendent Kornegay emphasized that although the District takes fights and bullying extremely seriously, Lake County doesn’t have a worse problem than other nearby areas.

"I applaud the leadership who has just gone above and beyond because they, too, are committed to ensuring that every child feels safe," said Kornegay.

The District has proactive programs meant to help combat violence in schools. They offer mentorships, conflict resolution classes, and character education, trying to teach kids to manage their own behaviors to avoid fights. They also have alternative placement options where students have access to more extensive counseling where they can learn better coping skills. 

"It’s never too much, no matter what it takes to ensure that every child is safe," said Kornegay. 

The problem is, there are some things the school just can’t control.

"They’re still texting her and calling her and threatening her," Belton said of the girls who she was in a fight with. 

These moms pulled their kids out of Oak Park. They had just started at a new school, and it clearly wasn’t the solution for which they hoped.

However, it is one all three kids said they think will work.

So far, the kids say their first couple of days at their new school have gone well.