Saturday's Internet Edition, May 10, 2008.
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Tony and Helen Monaco, whose 16-year-old son suffered eye and ear damage, say they want to be sure no other family has to endure what they have gone through.
They called the fight “school sanctioned physical violence.” Davie High Principal Cary Powers said that only one teacher was aware of the fight, and that teacher - Mark Reierstad - was suspended without pay.
Tony Monaco said his son willingly participated in the fight with an older, stronger and more experienced student because it “was to involve light to moderate contact between the boys.”
“When my son leaves my home each morning, I expect that he will be protected by the school and its adult staff until the time the child returns to the house,” said Helen Monaco. “I never expected that Davie High School would allow my son to be battered with another boy’s fist in the face and head during a school-sponsored event.”
The fight, Powers said, was not school sponsored. Although the school had a self-defense club that has been disbanded since the fight, strict parameters for the club were set forth, including that there would be no fighting or contact. “This was not part of what that club did,” Powers said.
His words didn’t change the Monaco’s opinions.
“Why did the adult professional teacher who stood a few feet away from the fight not halt the beating immediately,” Helen Monaco said. “My child’s hearing, eyesight and face have been severely damaged as a result of the school’s failure to act responsibly. This should not be allowed to happen to other children ... subscribe to the Davie County Enterprise Record, P.O. Box 99, Mocksville, N.C. 27028.