Local Mother Shines a Light on Bullying

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Friday, 11 April 2025 at 11:40

Close to 77,000 people had viewed Josee Doan's Facebook video as of Friday morning.

WOODSTOCK - A local mother has gone viral on Facebook after sharing her daughters story.

Josee Doan has a nine-year-old daughter named Spencer with autism. She is a Grade 4 student at Algonquin Public School in Woodstock.

The Doan family went through the process of trying to get Spencer into a special education program. They were informed that she would not be able to attend until September 2025, so she would be in a traditional classroom for the current school year.

Josee received a call from the school earlier this week, stating that Spencer was upset and missed her.

"She is very happy, but sometimes her emotions can be extravagant. So when she is sad, she is very sad, so I will always come pick up Spencer without a doubt."

When she arrived at the school, Josee says a staff member informed her that Spencer was not upset because she missed her Mom. They told her that one of Spencer's classmates had been verbally abusing her all day, which led to Spencer leaving the classroom. She cried for an hour before she finally calmed down and the school called Josee.

The staff member also told Josee that Spencer had been subject to verbal abuse for several months now, and they could lose their job for sharing this information.

Josee has since pulled her daughter from school for her own safety.

"I would have withheld her and home schooled her this year until that special needs class was available, but instead of saving their own face and what that looks like on paper, my daughter is not in school because they can't provide. They protect their own and my daughter was susceptible to so much abuse."

Josee says police are now involved, and she has also reached out to the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) but has yet to receive a response.

She posted a video on Facebook on Tuesday, sharing her story and encouraging parents to talk to their kids about bullying in school. She also included a link to an anonymous form, that parents could submit to the TVDSB with their concerns.

"I just want everyone to be safe and I don't want these kids to be conditioned to think that this is okay."

In sharing her story, also Josee hopes to be able to send Spencer back to school in a safe environment. She would also like the school board to change the reasoning behind Spencer's absences from parent approved to school is unsafe.

As of this morning, the Facebook video had been viewed close to 77,000 times and had been shared close to 400 times. Josee has been blown away by the response.

"It's just so nice for Spencer to see that everyone is fighting for her, that everyone loves her, and know that wasn't right."

She has also found out that she is not alone.

"I have an inbox of hundreds of parents telling me the same story and it keeps coming from Thames Valley District School Board."

The TVDSB has released the following statement to Heart FM:

"We are aware of recent social media posts made by a parent, in addition to harmful misinformation circulating on social media. Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to comment further on situations involving specific individuals. Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) is committed to creating safe learning and working environments free from bullying. We continue to take all reports of bullying seriously and to conduct thorough investigations into these reports."