New School for Kids Whose Mom Risked Jail to Protect Her Daughter From Alleged Bullies
Cheryl Joseph could have been sent to jail if daughter missed more school.
Nov. 12, 2010 — -- The children of a Philadelphia mother who vowed to go to jail if her bullied children weren't transferred to a different school will be joining new classrooms today.
Cheryl Joseph's two daughters, 13-year-old Tiffany and 11-year-old Gabrielle, will be placed in new schools, Philadelphia Public School District Superindendent Arlene Ackerman announced, according the the Philadelphia Daily News.
Repeated calls to the school district by ABC News were not immediately returned, nor were those to Joseph, who told the Daily News that her children were so happy to escape the torment of the bullies at their old school that they were "hugging each other and giving each other high-fives."
The decision to move the two girls came after Joseph made a public plea to the school district, claiming she'd be willing serve time for her children's truancy rather than send them into the "hell hole" of bullying.
Joseph had been told by a truancy court in Philadelphia that if she didn't enroll Tiffany in a school by early next year, she could face at least five days in prison, a $500 fine and community service. Her children could also be removed from her care, she said.
She said she was willing to take the risk of jail time after seeing what her daughter endured in the past year at Pepper Middle School.
"I have resigned myself to going to jail for at least five days," Joseph said Thursday. "I'm going to go to jail rather than send my kids there.
"I feel like I'm feeding them to wolves when I send them. It's a hell hole," she said.
Her daughter has reportedly been beaten up and even had basketballs thrown at and "bounced off her" by bullies who "don't like the way she looks," Joseph said.
Bullies have called her daughter's cell phone and cursed at her, according to Joseph, and spread rumors that Tiffany was doing "inappropriate things with boys."
"My children are biracial," Joseph said. "They have olive complexions, and the root of the bullying is that other kids don't like the way Tiffany looks.
"When one child was asked why she didn't like Tiffany, she just responded that she, 'Didn't want to have to look at Tiffany's face,'" Joseph said.
Tiffany has purportedly suffered from low self-esteem since the bullying began, and her mother said she constantly refers to herself as "obese" and is "obsessed with dieting."
"She's constantly asking me how many calories is in this or in that or just not eating," Joseph said.
Joseph said she had unsuccessfully campaigned for the school to let Tiffany and her younger sister transfer to other schools.
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