A group of parents berated and encouraged the physical assault of a 13-year-old student from Yonkers Montessori Academy (YMA). This incident, captured on video, is now the basis of a likely lawsuit against the Yonkers Public Schools district.
Violence on school grounds
Alenna Merrit’s daughter, known as E.W. to preserve the child’s privacy, was surrounded by four parents and one grandparent of other students on the baseball field on YMA grounds at 7:20 a.m. on April 18, 2024.
Video captured from three different phones shows the parents shouting and using profanity toward the child. Soon after, another student rushed her and started slapping and striking her. The parents looked on, inciting the assault while E.W. attempted to defend herself.
A Pending Lawsuit
Alenna Merritt submitted a legal notice of claim to the City of Yonkers (COY) on Thursday April 25. This signifies her intention to pursue a $40 million lawsuit. The notice accuses the COY, the Yonkers Board of Education, and Yonkers Montessori Academy of negligent supervision, negligent hiring, and negligent infliction of emotional distress among other associated allegations.
Mark Shirian, the family’s attorney, noted that after reviewing the recovered footage of the incident, it appeared that the group was seeking out E.W.’s friend for reasons unknown. Since this friend wasn’t present, these adults verbally harassed E.W. The teen “was viciously assaulted, beaten, and as a result has sustained severe physical, emotional, and psychological injuries,” reads the legal document.
Mr. Shirian told The New York Post that Merrit and her daughter are “rightfully traumatized by this ordeal.” He and his clients therefore demand the school take “decisive action to rectify the situation and to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.” Shirian further noted that his clients are contemplating legal action against the involved parents. However, these complaints await the conclusion of the criminal investigation and any resulting cases.
According to an interview conducted by The New York Post, Merrit stated her clear concern.
We have children who are not being supervised and not being protected. I’m not going to put her in harm’s way and put her in the lion’s den every day.
Alenna Merrit subsequently pulled her daughter from YMA and is now receiving remote schooling via an online tutor provided by the school as part of an available program.
