“He was just the sweetest kid and so polite. Every time you saw him it was 'well hi how are you?'"
That’s how people describe Jacob Bice. He was a student at Olentangy Liberty but in early February, Jacob killed himself.
If Facebook comments are any gauge, his death shocked his school and sent an ice cold shiver through the community of Powell.
One parent who knew him said, “One of those kids that you just kind of wish your kid was like. Incredibly talented and gifted."
Olentangy superintendent Mark Raiff can't go into details about the investigation into Jacob's death but I asked him if his district has a bullying problem.
“I wouldn't say yes or no emphatically to anything. Only that emphatically saying we're trying our best each day to facilitate maximum learning for every student and trying to get better at everything we do."
After Jacob’s death, several parents reached out to 10TV with concerns about bullying. Two parents have middle schoolers who'll attend an Olentangy high school next year.
"I don't think there's anything that makes me feel comfortable right now about sending them to the high school at this particular location," said one parent.
Superintendent Raiff responded, “That's disheartening and for every one of those people I have to defend the work of our buildings and say I'll find 100 people that feel completely opposite."
Superintendent Raiff says the school can only investigate bullying – or any incident - if they know about it. He cited statistics at the district level from August of 2017 to December 2017 .
"So we had as a district, 34 reported incidents: three at the elementary level, 18 at the middle school level, 13 at the high school level. Out of 20,000 kids, it's less than .2 percent."
Mr. Raiff also says -- students – parents – anybody – has a completely anonymous way to report bullying or any behavior through a student help line that’s monitored every day of the year.
“The company that monitors that report for us 24/7 reads every report that comes in, determines the immediacy of the report. If it's something where a student is talking about self-harm or a student is talking about a weapon or something immediate, they start placing phone calls to a chain of command and they start with me,” said Superintendent Raiff.
The school district is cooperating with Powell police in the investigation into Jacob’s death.
Christie Bice, Jacob’s mom, posted this letter on a private Facebook page. She gave 10TV permission to make it public.
‘I am Jacob Bice’s mom. His dad and I have recently joined this group and have been reading the many outpourings of support for us after the loss of our son, as well as the outcry over the presumed reason for his death. While we appreciate the overwhelming number of requests to help with food and other means of support, we truly only want one thing: to know why our son died.
Many people have expressed knowledge that he was bullied, but very few are willing to share actionable details. Either folks fear reprisal, or they really didn’t have direct knowledge in the first place. To the few who have been willing to speak up with specifics, please accept our sincerest gratitude.
On that note, we ask for three things:
1. If you or your child do not have first-hand evidence that Jacob was bullied, please stop talking about it as this is not helpful. It only perpetuates rumors and takes valuable time away from the police investigation.
2. If you do have this information, but aren’t willing to discuss it with people who can actually do something about it, please stop talking about it because you are part of the problem. That may sound harsh, but no one is going to step forward for you. The problem will not solve itself. The solution begins with courage from those in the know. PLEASE BE COURAGEOUS.
3. If you do know names and can speak to specific incidents, and are willing to be part of the solution, please PM me or my husband, Jason Bice, or reach out to Detective Darren Smith of the Powell Police Department.
It sounds as though everyone agrees that bullying in our community and in the country needs to stop. That only happens if two things occur.
First, bullies need to be held accountable for the things they say and do, and the powers that be need to know about it. Speak up if you see that someone is being relentlessly teased or if nasty, hurtful things are posted online. If you know about it and do nothing, you are part of the problem. Never has it been easier or more socially acceptable to take a stand against bullies. Now is the time; the waiting needs to be over.
Second, parents need to be willing not just to talk to their kids about being a bully, starting all the way back in preschool and continuously from then on, but they need to be willing to admit that they may be raising one. If someone comes to you and tells you your child is bullying theirs, or if you witness it, do not just chalk the behavior up to “boys will be boys” or some other toxic nonsense. It is a teaching opportunity. Take it, and teach your child to have compassion for other kids. That’s how we end bullying, and maybe the suicide epidemic along with it.’