Parents says it's too cruel at school for their kids

KINDERGARTNER ERNEST KEY is afraid of taking his pants off because two of his schoolmates sexually assaulted him in a bathroom at Lea Elementary in April, his mother said.

At the Vare School, Krisire Tuggles, also in kindergarten, refuses to go into a coat closet because that was the spot where his former teacher used to pinch him and smack him around, his mother said.

Since classmates at Heston Elementary School bloodied her nose and ripped her uniform, first-grader Aalliyah Brake has been too afraid to go back, said her father.

These little ones have two things in common: They've allegedly been violated during school hours at the hands of staffers or other students, and, their parents say, the adults responsible for their safety have done little if anything about it.

The exasperated parents of these young students were among several who echoed the same disturbing message in calls to the Daily News in recent weeks. The newspaper normally would not print the names of such young children, but the parents were so frustrated that they allowed use of their names.

They've confronted teachers and principals, and called school district management, but parents say they have been brushed aside or have been forced to turn to politicians, lawyers and police.

The parents who have gotten a response are unsatisfied with what they consider a lackluster resolution to serious crimes.

"What is it going to take?" asked Ryshida Wright, who said that attacks on her second-grader, Ryshyne Whaley, 9, at H.R. Edmunds in Frankford, have gone unpunished.

"Somebody's child is going to get killed on school district time, and maybe that's when something will be done."

Pulled from school 

Many parents throughout the district say that they've lost faith in the adults with whom they leave their children during school hours.

"I have no trust in the Philadelphia School District," Wright said.

Her son was tossed to the ground by a noontime aide and has come home several times this school year with knots on his head after being beaten by two boys, she said.

She said she repeatedly went to the school to complain after her phone messages weren't returned.

Principal Leroy Baker said that the aide had been disciplined, but, underscoring the disconnect between schools and the district's central office, a district spokesman said the incident with the worker was investigated and determined to be unfounded.

Both Baker and the spokesman said they had no record of Wright's son being attacked by the two boys.