Parents say fifth-grade bullies are tormenting teachers, kids on one Costa Mesa campus
Parents of California Elementary School in Costa Mesa are asking administrators to discipline a group of fifth-grade “bullies” they claim repeatedly disrupt learning, harass and intimidate students and have caused teachers to leave their classrooms in tears.
Several parents Tuesday spoke in public comments before the Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustees, expressing frustration with a lack of intervention they say has allowed the same cohort of students, and their problematic behaviors, to move from one grade level to the next.
They described teachers being unable to complete lessons because they could no longer tolerate in-class disruptions, such as yelling, cursing and the throwing of objects. In one case, a fourth-grade teacher reportedly went on mental health leave last year because of the students, who were not named at Tuesday’s meeting.
Andre Amiri is one of several of the school’s parents who has met with John Drake, the district’s assistant superintendent of elementary instruction, and district staff to discuss the matter.
“The teachers sat in, the fifth-grade teachers, and they were crying — that was enough for me to know that we are in a dire situation,” he said Tuesday. “Just for their own sanity and health, we need intervention.”
Amiri claimed a lack of effective response has emboldened other students to act out during class, widening the misconduct beyond the original contingent of troublemakers.
Mom Michelle Cusumano urged board members to strengthen disciplinary protocols at the Costa Mesa campus where, she said, fifth-graders are not receiving an adequate education.
“The teachers are laughed at, they’re made fun of and abused with no recourse,” she said, indicating the same students were tied to violence and physical assaults during the 2021-22 school year.
“We have met multiple times with the principal. We were promised disciplinary protocols and interventions would be put in place,” Cusumano continued. “We have lost tenured teachers to mental health absences taken by them, on more than one occasion, as a result of these same students.”
Fellow fifth-grade mother Amber Sides read letters she collected from students expressing their concerns about the behavior and its effect on learning.
“Dear head of Newport School District, there have been some troubles at my school,” one letter began. “One bad thing that has been happening is that a lot of kids have been playing violently. Another is that there has been a lot of bullying in my grade. We haven’t been able to learn because of the bad behavior.”
“I don’t like it when the teacher is in a bad mood because of [three names, not read aloud],” another child wrote anonymously. “We don’t learn as much because we’re always interrupted.”
Dad Brandon Mungai said he’s paying to tutor his 10-year-old daughter in math so she can keep pace with basic skills she’s unable to acquire in class because of the outbursts. Whenever he picks her up, she tells him not what she learned but what the problem kids did that day, he said.
“It just feels like California [Elementary] is kind of grooming these bullies, from third grade to fourth grade to fifth grade now,” he said. “It really sucks to be a dad and see my daughter go through that.”
Supt. Wes Smith, in a separate comment Tuesday, thanked parents for advocating for the safety of students and staff members and said district officials are working to address the issues.
“This is a topic our labor allies brought up as well — how do we support these classrooms, California in particular?” he said. “Some things are being implemented, not limited to, additional support in the classrooms. This is something we’re all concerned about working on.”
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