Editor’s note: This essay from Fort Lauderdale parent Cherie Sanders appeared today on miamiherald.com.
I received a call near the end of the school day that no parent should ever get: My daughter had been threatened by a male student.
More than threatened — he said he was going to kill her.
Florida’s Hope Scholarship gave her a safer environment and me, peace of mind. One day, near the end of her fifth-grade year at her assigned public school, my daughter was approached by a student who said he was a murderer and that he was going to kill her. Later that day, he walked by her in the cafeteria and told her that she was dead.
My daughter is a sweet, kind-hearted young lady. She is full of faith, love and innocence. Who would want to harm her? She reported him to a teacher. The school investigated and called me. Because we lived a half mile from the school, I was running through the front doors within minutes.
I was heartbroken when I listened to my daughter retell her experience. Parenting is difficult, but I never would have imagined having to deal with threats in a school, where my daughter should feel safe and I should feel comfortable sending her.
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