CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A family is fed up after they claim their son has been bullied for years and they also say the school has yet to take real action.
The parents had enrolled their children into Incarnate Word Academy on Alameda.
After multiple claims of bullying happening to their 10-year-old son, the parents have decided to pull all their children out of IWA.
They believe more students have fallen victim to bullying but are too afraid to say something.
The parents we spoke to say they felt Incarnate Word Academy was a safe haven for their children and they believed in the Academy’s values and education.
When their child made several reports of a student bullying him, their worst fears were being realized.
And now they want to see change.
Parents Cyndi and Joseph Hernandez claim their 10-year-old son Gael a 5th grader at IWA has been bullied by the same student since kinder.
The latest incident was when a student came from behind their son and slammed a soccer ball to his head.
The family took Gael to the Emergency Room and medical reports showed that he had symptoms of a mild concussion.
The many run-ins from this alleged bully, Gael says it gets really hard to talk about.
“I've gotten constantly bullied like I said and every time I come home when they asked how's your day been? I've said good nothing, really happened. Let's see I got bullied and I just hold all those feelings in,” says Hernandez.
“And you realize, that the biggest bully, isn't the child that's bullying your child, but it's the school,” says Joseph Hernandez.
Gael's father Joseph Hernandez says they have spoken to the administration at IWA several times but says all he's been given are unfilled promises.
“They cannot be afraid of saying something to you, to a teacher they have to know something will happen when nothing is happening and your child is telling a teacher some your child is telling the other child leave me alone, and nothing is happening, you have to be their voice and when you don't you're failing your child,” says Joseph Hernandez.
The family says they will not let this situation get swept under the rug and will be an advocate for their child.
“Well guess what, our child got hurt on Friday, enough is enough,” says Gael
Our Action news team did reach out to administration with the academy.
They sent us a statement saying: “Student safety is paramount to everything we do at Incarnate Word Academy. All instances and reports of bullying are taken seriously, and appropriate actions are implemented.” -Pamela C. Carrillo IWA Elementary Level.