MODESTO–
When letter went out to parents at Fremont Elementary School in Modesto about a 4th grader who wrote a “hit list,” there was immediate concern about keeping the children safe.
That was on the mind of one mother who spoke exclusively to FOX40.
“Will she need counseling? I believe yes,” she said of her daughter. “For me it’s an emotional mess.”
The difference is, that’s the mother of the girl who wrote the list.
She didn’t want to be identified by name because she said publicity over the incident has already done damage to her family.
“The sad truth is, for her to write one little word, it blew up,” she said. “She’s being attacked by a lot of people. It’s not right.”
The Modesto City School District says they don’t believe anyone was in danger. But the 4th grader was suspended anyway.
The question that her mother asks: Are we good at balancing the safety of all students with a sensitivity for the child who makes that mistake?
FOX40 asked the girl’s mother, if she were a parent of a student whose name appeared on the list, what would she do?
“I would probably feel the same way all those other parents do,” she said.
But she says she’s concerned about a stigma, and a record, that may follows her student the rest of her days in Modesto’s schools.
