Grayson Bruce can bring his now-famous banned My Little Pony backpack back to class with him. His North Carolina school district has reversed its suggestion that the nine-year old Rainbow Dash fan and his backpack were to blame for the bullying he endured from his classmates, including, as his mother told reporters, to “go home and kill himself!” Last week, the school principal told Grayson’s mom he could no longer bring the backpack to school.
But now, after standing up against more than a week of viral news reports and over 70,000 fans on his Support For Grayson Facebook page, the school superintendent has reversed course.
Yesterday, Grayson’s mom, Noreen Bruce, posted to the Facebook page that she had “met with Dr. Tony Baldwin, Superintendent of the Buncombe County Schools and David Thompson, Director of Student Services.” She described the meeting as “a real heart-to-heart talk,” and said, “I strongly feel we can work together to make things better for Grayson and all the students in our school system.”
We are working with Mr. Thompson to help organize a Parent Advisory Council on Bullying. We will partner with them to make sure that every child feels safe and comfortable at school. After our talk this morning I’m confident that we can make strides in that area.
We appreciate all of your support from the bottom of our hearts! The outpouring of love from everyone has been unbelievable and has given us the opportunity to shine a light on the different kinds of hurts kids experience at school.
We are considering all options for getting Grayson back in school. We are pleased the school system is working closely with us. All of the options include Grayson taking his “My Little Pony†bag to school.
Today, that option became a reality.
The Buncombe County School District released a statement saying they “sincerely regret that the issue of being told to leave the book bag at home was perceived as blaming Grayson. While that was not the intent, the perception became reality. We support Grayson bringing the book bag to school.”
Every situation with young children is a teachable moment and we will use this example in our efforts to address a wider issue of bullying. The Bruce family has committed to working with us to improve and enhance our anti-bullying programs.
Nine years old, and already teaching others a lesson, just by being himself.
Congratulations to Grayson and his mom!
Image: Screenshot from WLOS