Parents Say School Shamed Students by Putting ‘Lunch Money’ Stamp on Their Arm
(Twitter / juanyfbaby)
There are plenty of ways of sending reminders home from school. Sending a letter home is one. E-mail is another. Phone calls and texts are also fine. But what happens when a child’s school decides to “brand” a student with a reminder–of a financial matter, no less? This is what happened to a second grader at Desert Cover Elementary in Arizona when school staff informed him his lunch money account was low.
Tara Chavez, the Phonenix-based mother whose son received a stamp, is one such parent who is currently fuming at the incident. Chavez claims that a school employee grabbed her son’s wrist and placed a large stamp that says, “LUNCH MONEY” on it as a reminder for his parents that his account was running low.
According to BuzzFeed, Chavez was surprised by the incident.
“Normally, I get a slip in his folder when he needs more money.”
Instead, her son was “humiliated” at receiving the stamp–a public declaration that can have negative repercussions on a child. Many parents believe that the stamp can cause their child to become victims of bullying as it an insinuate coming from a low-income household.
Chavez stated that her son was so upset he would not allow his mother to photograph the stamp.
“He was screaming and crying the entire time.”
According to Chavez, when she e-mailed the elementary school’s principal, they responded stating that children normally are given a choice between a slip reminder or the stamp. But it appears this was not the case for her son.
Juan Fortenberry, a friend of the family, tweeted about the situation.
https://twitter.com/juanyfbaby/status/848147899175272452
https://twitter.com/juanyfbaby/status/848148041806876672
https://twitter.com/juanyfbaby/status/848148216004661250
https://twitter.com/juanyfbaby/status/848148929413869569
His post instantly went viral, causing many to state their disapproval of the policy.
Someone at that school would have their day go downhill in a hurry if that had happened to my kid.
— Chuck hates being cold (@claws0922) April 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/4jelani/status/848235222768463873
https://twitter.com/pluralisms/status/848241774023913475
Fortunately, the outrage reached the Paradise Valley Unified School District who have since changed their stance on using stamps:
https://twitter.com/juanyfbaby/status/849053958157029378
