Parent Plans Anti-Bullying Rally in Cambridge
- Cambridge mother Dennise DiSavino is organizing an anti-bullying rally outside her son’s school on May 7 after saying repeated complaints brought too little action. (therecord.com) - The protest is set for 2 p.m., and DiSavino says families from her son’s school and across the city plan to join. (therecord.com) - The fight matters because Cambridge parents have been publicly accusing both local school boards of weak, slow bullying responses for weeks. (cambridgetoday.ca)
A school bullying dispute in Cambridge is turning into a public protest. A mother, Dennise DiSavino, says the response to what her Grade 7 son has been dealing with has been so(therecord.com) — not just from her son’s school, but from around the city — to show up. The point is simple: push school officials to treat bullying like a safety issue, not a paperwork issue. (therecord.com) ### Who is organizing this? Dennise DiSavino is the parent at the center of it. (cambridgetoday.ca)ts. She said the situation had escalated, her son was anxious, losing sleep, and avoiding normal parts of the school day like eating lunch in the lunchroom. (cambridgetoday.ca) ### Why did this turn into a rally? Basically, DiSavino says private complaints got her nowhere. She said she was told options included letting her son leave class or leave school early — which (therecord.com) the gap here. The family says the system offered coping strategies, not accountability. (cambridgetoday.ca) ### What exactly is planned? The rally is scheduled for May 7 at 2 p.m. outside the Cambridge school her son attends. DiSavino told The Record she i(cambridgetoday.ca)solated family complaint anymore — it is being turned into a broader show of pressure. (therecord.com) ### Is this just one family’s complaint? No — and that’s a big reason the story has legs. Another recent Cambridge report said two parents had spoken publicly about bullying experiences involving (cambridgetoday.ca)ut the lived experience is that responses can be slow, opaque, and unsatisfying when a child is being repeatedly targeted. (cambridgetoday.ca) ### What are the school boards saying? The Waterloo Region District School Board says student well-being is its (therecord.com)includes progressive discipline and restorative practices, with the goal of both responding to incidents and helping students understand the harm caused. The Catholic board also publicly points to anti-bullying resources and school-climate programs. (cambridgetoday.ca) ### Why are parents still upset if those tools exist? Because tools a(cambridgetoday.ca)d it herself. And the tool is only one reporting path — it is not monitored 24/7 and is not meant to replace direct school supports or emergency help. So parents can hear “we have a system” and still feel abandoned if the system doesn’t feel visible, fast, or decisive when their child is struggling. (cambridgetoday.ca) ### What’s really at stake here? This is about w(cambridgetoday.ca)class, or misses school, parents see that as the wrong child paying the price. That is why a local school complaint is spilling into a public rally — the argument is no longer just “my child needs help,” but “the system is normalizing workarounds instead of prevention.” (cambridgetoday.ca) ### Bottom line? A parent in Cambridge is trying to turn private frustration into public pressure. (cambridgetoday.ca) on a website. (therecord.com)
