16-Year-Old Sues Seattle Girls School Over Bullying

A 16-year-old is suing the Seattle Girls School, claiming she was verbally abused and physically assaulted by other students for two years.

Olivia, whose mother asked us not to use the girl's last name or to show her face, attended the school from 2006 to 2009 and said the bullying included physical abuse, some of which left her with a permanent back injury.

"I was continually taunted and teased. I was called profanities almost every day. I was isolated," Olivia said.

The suit is for an unspecified amount and will allow a jury to decide what the damages should be.

Olivia said the bullying started with an unprovoked slap at her first school dance and ended when she was kicked -- that attack left her with the back injury. She said as many as 10 students bullied her and made even a trip to her locker terrifying.

"Every day she would shove me down with extreme force on top of my head," Olivia said of one of the alleged bullies. "I felt like I was suffocating. I could barely breathe."

Olivia said she doesn't know why she was singled out, only that she and her mother were both told by the school that historically, one girl in each grade had been chosen by the other girls to be bullied.

The private school is small; it consists of about 130 students.

"I was shocked, I was surprised, I was horrified because obviously if there's history, it tells you that something should have been done earlier," said Olivia's mother, Carol.

The family said the school seemed sympathetic and promised the bullying would stop.

"Obviously they didn't get it to stop," Carol said. "They obviously didn't have the right techniques, or tactics or approach to manage the girls."

The school responded with a statement to KIRO 7 on Thursday that read, in part, "As a close-knit community, we place at the forefront our endless dedication to a safe and healthy environment for all students. Our community expectations for both students and parents are very clear: physical and emotional harassment are unacceptable."

The full statement is available below.

Olivia said she has been left emotionally scarred and with a back that hurts so bad, she was forced to give up ballet.

"This school is supposed to teach leadership and accountability; well, it needs to be held accountable for putting Olivia through this hell for two years," said Yvonne Ward, Olivia's attorney.

Here is the full statement from the Seattle Girls' School:

At Seattle Girls' School, we take the issue of bullying, relational aggression and cyber bullying very seriously. Since our inception in 2000, our core mission has been and remains, to address head on how we work and collaborate in community with each other. Accordingly, we invest extensive time and effort in ongoing education on these topics to ensure that faculty, staff, parents and students are well educated and equipped to address any issues of bullying.

Due to this commitment, we provide our parents with a number of resources including our parent and guardian information series; we offer multiple learning opportunities for parents and students to partner with us in understanding bullying, relational aggression and cyber bullying in order to end the cycle. The commitment to our students who are entrusted to us is to equip them with the necessary tools and self confidence to combat issues of bullying.

Through the professional development programming which we provide our faculty and staff we partner with national experts in order to actively identify and openly discuss bullying, relational aggression and cyber bullying. Our faculty, staff and administration value these learning opportunities as we carry forth our goal, which is to be advocates for all students.

As a close-knit community, we place at the forefront our endless dedication to a safe and healthy environment for all students. Our community expectations for both students and parents are very clear: physical and emotional harassment are unacceptable.

Please refer to the following links that will give you a sense of the good work happening at SGS: http://purplelynxx.blogspot.com/2010/11/interrupting-cyber-bullying.html http://purplelynxx.blogspot.com/2010/10/can-we-teach-compassion.html

Founded in 2000, the mission of Seattle Girls' School is to inspire and develop courageous leaders who think independently, work collaboratively, learn joyfully, and champion change. Seattle Girls' School is a member of the National Coalition of Girls' Schools and is an Accredited Member of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools.