‘We gotta make sure we don’t miss the signs’: Superintendent who smeared bullied-to-death 14-year-old Adriana Kuch lectured teachers about stamping out violence at schools
- Triantafillos Parlapanides, who resigned from the New Jersey Central Regional School District, had called on others to look out for warning signs of violence in schools during a 2018 interview
- His comments did not to age well as he’s now accused of failing to act properly after Adriana Kuch was beaten and humiliated in school before killing herself
- It comes as his failures and Kuch’s death led to outrage across the nation and further scrutiny over bullying videos posted on social media
The ex-superintendent who tried to shift the blame over the suicide of 14-year-old bully victim Adriana Kuch lectured teachers about stamping out violence in schools.
Speaking in a 2018 TV interview with Jersey Matters over the Parkland school shooting, Triantafillos Parlapanides, the former head of the New Jersey Central Regional School District, remarked that everyone had a duty to watch out for warning signs to end school violence.
He also claimed social media was a great tool to find perpetrators of violence or threats, and touted his district’s policy to work with police to act quickly when a disturbing video is flagged.
But that’s not what happened when a viral video spread of four teenage girls beating Adriana in the Central Regional High School, with the victim taking her own life two days later.
Parlapandines ultimately resigned last week following backlash after he implied Adriana killed herself over her alleged drug abuse and her mother’s own suicide.
Triantafillos Parlapanides, who resigned as superintendent of the New Jersey Central Regional School District, said it was everyone’s duty to watch out for warning signs of violence in schools during a 2018 interview (above)
The ex-superintendent, however, is now accused of failing to properly act after 14-year-old Adriana Kuch (above) was beaten and humiliated by a group of four girls in her high school
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-TqnElbN-ug%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
In the 2018 video, Parlapanides claimed it was simple to avoid tragedies in school as long as everyone remains active and vigilant.
‘I think it starts with the parents, the students, the teachers, the admins, the police, all working together to make sure everybody communicates,’ he remarked with confidence.
‘Like I said, a lot of these kids will show signs. We gotta make sure we don’t miss the signs.’
He added that the signs were easy enough to find nowadays because everything gets posted on social media.
‘The one good thing about all kids nowadays, they put everything on Instagram, on Snapchat.’
He also boasted that his district has a memorandum of agreement with their local police department to ‘notify them immediately’ when violence or threats are reported.
The police, however, were not notified after Adriana was beaten by a group of teenage girls on February 1, with the humiliating video posted online and the torment continuing until the victim killed herself in her closet two days later.
Parlapanides intially shifted the blame away from the school, suggesting Adriana’s suicide was driven by her alleged drug use and her mother’s suicide, which he said was fueled by an affair Kuch’s father, an Army veteran, supposed had.
Following intense backlash, the superintendent resigned in disgrace, but the district said during a Thursday board meeting that he remains on the payroll with his $195,343 salary.
District officials said they had not yet taken action on his resignation despite appointing assistant superintendent Douglas Corbett as the interim head of the district.
The district declined to comment on what Parlapanides’ current role is in the district.
Under the terms of the district’s contract, the superintendent cannot be dismissed or have his salary reduced unless he is indicted for criminal offenses, found to have committed fraud, or if he and the board mutually accept his departure.
The district confirmed that Parlapanides remains on the payroll with his salary of $195,343, but declined to comment on what his current role is in
The former superintendent was slammed after he suggested Adriana (pictured) killed herself over alleged drug abuse and the suicide of her mother
Adriana’s bruised legs after the attack. Her father said she was mostly ‘humiliated’ by the video, which made her feel like she’d been attacked ‘twice’
Michael Kuch, Adriana’s father, previously explained to DailyMail.com how his wife had battled addiction and tragically died in 2015, when Adriana was just seven.
He denied Parlapanides’ claims that ‘drugs counseling’ was offered to his daughter, instead explaining that he and his wife sought help for her because she had been smoking marijuana with a vape – as many kids at the school did.
‘I don’t know how to respond to this insane deflection,’ Michael said in response to the superintendent’s emails.
‘This guy is a piece of s**t,’ he added.
Adriana’s father believes the school failed his daughter by not calling police on the bullies after the attack.
Adriana killed herself after seeing their taunts on social media, and after one of the girls sent her a direct message laughing about it.
‘I can’t begin to tell you how angry I am at the school, at the police department…If those videos hadn’t been posted, these girls would have ended up with a one day suspension or in no trouble at all,’ he said.
The four girls have been formally charged with the beating. One was charged with aggravated assault, another with harassment, and the two others with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.
According to her father, Adriana was ‘smashed in the face three times with a water bottle’ and ‘blacked out.’ He then had to take his blood covered daughter to the police station to file a report because the school refused to do so
Michael Kuch (above) slammed the superintendent over claims that the grieving father and Army veteran had an affair that led to his wife’s suicide in 2015
Adriana’s death has sparked outrage across the nation and further scrutiny over bullying as a slew of videos of students being attacked in the east coast have been shared online in recent weeks.
One such attack was recorded on Monday at the Cosgrove Middle School in Spencerport, near Rochester, New York, with video showing the moment a bully slammed a boy half his size on the ground.
The 15-year-old assailant has been charged with third degree assault following the attack, while the school also removed him for the rest of the year.
However, the accused bully has since spoken out as he claims that his suspension was racially motivated, but other students warned he has a history of targeting smaller students in vicious attacks.
Footage of the attack shows the large ninth grade student first confront his victim, who was half his size
In another horrifying bullying incident to hit the east coast, a Virginia mother has shared footage online showing the moment her 12-year-old son was strangled by an older girl on a school bus.
Mother Taylor Brock said despite the girl having a 60 pound weight advantage over her son, the bully savagely beat her son while also grabbing him by the mouth.
Brock has joined numerous others in condemning the recent spate of bullying.
She said that despite the girl being instructed to walk in a different hallway, following a period when she was suspended for the incident, her son still sees her and even has to share his lunch hour with her.
Source: Read Full Article
