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Piedmont Avenue Elementary School bullying incident still unresolved
From Staff Reports
May 09, 2008
OAKLAND — More than two weeks after an incident at Piedmont Avenue Elementary School that left 7-year-old Zachary Cataldo hospitalized with a head injury, school officials and police have not confirmed whether a bully smashed his head into a tree, as the boy's family has reported.
No one has been suspended from school or otherwise disciplined in relation to the boy's injuries because the investigation is not yet complete, said Troy Flint, spokesman for Oakland Unified School District.
Zachary has not returned to school since the April 21 incident, nor has he transferred elsewhere, Flint said. He said a report — which will probably not be made public in full because of its sensitive content — would be completed in the next 10 days. Oakland police are handling the investigation.
Zachary was treated in the intensive care unit of Children's Hospital Oakland for a head injury after his day-care provider found him dizzy and disoriented when she picked him up from the North Oakland school. Zachary told his family that an older boy, whom his aunt, Janine Cataldo, called a "known bully," hurt him.
His aunt reported that the boy lost four front teeth as a result of bullying at school last year. She said the children were too often left unsupervised, especially before and after school.
District officials, however, called a news conference at the school to suggest that there could be more to the story.
Janine Cataldo declined to comment Thursday.
Copyright 2008
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