A 7-year-old Native American boy cries after bully classmates cut off his long hair at school as a teacher looks away as his outraged parents call for an investigation.
- Andreas Garcia, age seven, returned home from Del City Elementary School last week without his usual and traditional long locks.
- The boy’s father, Jamal Garcia, criticized his son’s teacher for not paying attention to what had happened.
- “How can you not notice two children standing over someone and cutting their hair?” he said.
- Garcia added that his son was hurt after the incident and that “it won’t go away.” At all. It is not right’
- “This is our tradition. He had beautiful long hair, and suddenly they cut it. It hurts,” said Andreas’ mother, Denise Gonzalez.
- The family claims the school did not notify them of the incident until last weekend, when students and staff were already on spring break.
- Mid-Del Public Schools said heavy snowfall in the area, which led to the cancellation of classes for the day, and spring break slowed down the investigation.
- “We recognize the cultural significance of hair to the personality of our students and do not take it lightly,” the school district said in a statement.
A 7-year-old Native American boy burst into tears after two bullies cut his hair while their teacher fiddled with her laptop.
Andreas Garcia returned home from Del City Elementary School last week without his usual and traditional long locks.
Instead, his hair at the back was cut close to the scalp, leaving an unsightly section with longer strands on the sides.
Speaking while rubbing his eyes, Andreas told KOCO, “After I did my homework, they started cutting my hair. The teacher didn’t look. She was just sitting at her laptop.
The boy’s father, Jamal Garcia, criticized his son’s teacher for not paying attention to what happened, saying: “How do you not notice two children standing over someone and having their hair cut?”
Seven-year-old American student Andreas Garcia said two of his classmates in first grade at Del City Elementary School in Oklahoma cut his hair against his will last week when their teacher was too busy with her laptop to notice.
Garcia, a first grader, said he was doing his homework in class when two delinquents suddenly started cutting his hair.
The boy’s parents (left and right) said they want justice for their son and urged the school to take action despite spring break.
The incident psychologically affected Andreas, who “hadn’t smiled once” since losing his hair.
“And he’s always smiling and he’s never like that,” Garcia said.
He added that his son was the victim of one of the worst cases of bullying he had ever heard of.
“It won’t fly. At all. This is wrong,” Garcia continued.
“This is our tradition. He had beautiful long hair, and suddenly they cut it. It hurts,” said Andreas’ mother, Denise Gonzalez.
The family also allege that the elementary school did not notify them of the incident until last weekend, when students and staff had already been laid off for spring break.
“Knowing that the school didn’t contact me at all until Saturday morning and yet they want to investigate it, but not until Monday when the school reopens, so I feel like they were just trying to sweep it under the rug,” Garcia said. .
However, Mid-Del Public Schools released a statement saying they launched an investigation the same day the incident occurred and are taking the matter seriously.
“We recognize the cultural significance of hair to the personality of our students and do not take it lightly,” the post reads. “Any students found to be involved will be disciplined in accordance with the steps outlined in our student handbook.”
The district added that it cannot resolve the incident without first talking to the students who were involved in the incident.
Garcia was seen with his usual long hair prior to last week’s incident. Mid-Del Public Schools said in a statement that they will take the bullying incident seriously and that other students will face some form of punishment.
Meanwhile, Garcia has threatened to withdraw his son from Del City Elementary School, confessing that this is not the first time his son has been bullied.
“The only thing I can do is just pick up my son from school and send him to another place or to be homeschooled,” he said.
The district also said that due to heavy snowfall in the area, classes were canceled for one day and spring break delayed the investigation until classes resumed.
“Would you like it if someone did this to you?” Garcia said. “Would you like it if someone did this to your brother, sister, cousin or whatever? Would you like it? No. Why are you all doing this to my son?
Whatever happens next, Andreas says he intends to fully grow his hair back to its original length.