I'm appalled at the response you've gotten from the school, as I'm sure you are. Have you filed a complaint against the principal with the district? The principal is responsible for enforcing safety standards in school, and his behaviour belies a troubling disregard for his duty of care to the students under his watch. Death threats are no trivial matter, and there should be a serious disciplinary intervention to address the problem behaviours so that the issue is never repeated, either with your child or others.
Thanks for your sympathy, too. I'm also appalled. The principal told my husband that they have teachers watching the kids, but quote, "we can't watch them all the time." Disclaimer! So in other words, if we send him back, and the kid in question sticks a knife in his side at lunchtime, you will say you told us so?
I don't know if my husband (who has handled the communication with the principal thus far) will file a complaint. He may decide to forgo the aggravation. However, he has said our son's teachers should know the reason we are pulling him...not mentioning names of the perps...but letting them know our son experienced this.
4. Arrange a set time (say, half an hour) every school day for your son to "present" independent research results to you. This is a great opportunity for him to synthesize his results, prepare a storyboard, practice public speaking, and get the attention and validation he needs and craves. It validates his efforts, gives him an opportunity to access feedback, is terrific practice in presenting, it acts as a springboard to great discussions to extend content, and gives him an incentive to get his work done (because having a poor presentation is embarrassing).
I read this someplace else and thought it was an excellent idea. Our DS is in the process of starting a local rocketry club with his dad and having him do some presentations would really benefit him!
