100 signatures reached
To: Rachel Henderson, SDMA School Board President
URGENT RESPONSE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, INVESTIGATION, AND PREVENTATIVE ACTION FROM THE SDMA
Dear Members of the School Board and District Administration,
I am writing as an active and deeply concerned middle school parent and community member regarding the devastating loss of seventh-grade student Jordyn Irwin. The grief felt across our community is profound, and this tragedy demands both immediate institutional accountability and comprehensive reform within our schools.
My own daughter suffers from mental illnesses, has been bullied in the School District of Menomonie Area, and was homeschooled for most of the last school year as a direct result of these continuous issues. She has since returned to public school, and I now fear for her mental health and safety while in the care of Menomonie Middle School.
To make matters worse, there have been multiple claims and allegations of bullying by both students and staff dating back 10+ years. This is absolutely disgusting, abhorrent, and uncalled for.
What happens within the walls of your elementary, middle and high schools lives on within the minds that you're supposed to be molding to create a better future.
Our schools must be safe environments where every student is protected from persistent harassment and where mental health crises are identified and addressed proactively.
In light of this profound loss, I urge the district to immediately take the following actions:
I am writing as an active and deeply concerned middle school parent and community member regarding the devastating loss of seventh-grade student Jordyn Irwin. The grief felt across our community is profound, and this tragedy demands both immediate institutional accountability and comprehensive reform within our schools.
My own daughter suffers from mental illnesses, has been bullied in the School District of Menomonie Area, and was homeschooled for most of the last school year as a direct result of these continuous issues. She has since returned to public school, and I now fear for her mental health and safety while in the care of Menomonie Middle School.
To make matters worse, there have been multiple claims and allegations of bullying by both students and staff dating back 10+ years. This is absolutely disgusting, abhorrent, and uncalled for.
What happens within the walls of your elementary, middle and high schools lives on within the minds that you're supposed to be molding to create a better future.
Our schools must be safe environments where every student is protected from persistent harassment and where mental health crises are identified and addressed proactively.
In light of this profound loss, I urge the district to immediately take the following actions:
- Conduct a Full, Independent Investigation: Initiate a comprehensive, impartial investigation into the circumstances, complaints, and timeline leading up to Jordyn’s death. This must include an unsparing examination of any documented bullying, reports made by students or parents, and the administrative responses to those reports.
- Cooperation with Law Enforcement: Ensure that all findings, digital evidence, witness statements, and records of harassment are fully shared with the Menomonie Police Department and the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office so appropriate authorities can evaluate any criminal culpability or actionable offenses under Wisconsin law.
- Mandatory, Evidence-Based Training: Implement immediate, district-wide training for all instructional staff, administrators, and support personnel focused on recognizing severe bullying, identifying adolescent mental health crises, and executing evidence-based suicide prevention protocols.
- Student Safety and Anti-Bullying Education: Reinforce student-facing assemblies, clear reporting mechanisms with real protections against retaliation, and robust intervention procedures that ensure repeated bullying behaviors face immediate, enforceable consequences.
The standard response to loss cannot be silence or passive condolences. Our students and families need transparency, decisive leadership, and tangible commitments to ensure no other child endures this reality. A link on the school district website is no longer a sufficient and acceptable response.
I request a public acknowledgment of the concrete steps the district is undertaking to investigate these events and modernize its prevention protocols. Thank you for your time, attention, and service to our community during this critical moment.
Why is this important?
We as a community need to hold the administration and educators of the School District of Menomonie Area accountable. We need to demand transparency, corrective action, and implementation of mental health and bullying education with face to face assemblies, educator to student classes, and more effective responses to reports of bullying and/or harassment. A link on the district website should no longer be a sufficient response from the district.
Our students should not fear going to their place of education, they should not fear their peers, and they should not fear reaching out for help when they need it the most. Most importantly, our students should not feel the need to take their life due to the bullying of other students.
Our students should not fear going to their place of education, they should not fear their peers, and they should not fear reaching out for help when they need it the most. Most importantly, our students should not feel the need to take their life due to the bullying of other students.