Mother demands action after a student lit her daughter’s hair on fire at school
By AJ Sisson
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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — A student at Camp Curtin Academy, part of the Harrisburg School District, is afraid to return after her mother says another student lit her hair on fire, leaving the girl traumatized. The family asks the school and district to investigate further and that those involved are held accountable.
Catherine Vargas, the girl’s mother, said her daughter called crying and told her what happened.
“Her exact words were, ‘Mommy, my hair is falling,'” said Vargas. “Some other kid in the hallway, he just was passing by. He just turned on a lighter and put it to her hair.”
The mother told News 8 that her daughter initially didn’t know that her hair was on fire, only smelling and seeing the smoke at first.
Her daughter’s friends at the school put out the flames, and there were no physical injuries. Vargas said her daughter’s hair is damaged to the point that when she runs her hand through it, hair is still coming out a week later.
Vargas said the incident was not visible on school cameras because a wall blocks the camera’s view near the bathrooms in the hallways.
“If it was a lighter or matches, there’s security scanners, there’s metal detectors, (students) go through a scanner. They’re supposed to find things like that out and keep the boys and the girls and school safe,” said Vargas.
After the incident, Vargas’ daughter did not go to school the next day, visiting her primary care doctor to check her scalp for injuries, which she did not have. However, her mother says she was always excited for school, but no longer is, and expressed concern for her daughter’s safety at school.
When asked if she also fears her daughter at school, Vargas said, “Of course I do. That is my fear. Because I expect that if I drop off my kids at school, they’re going to be safe.”
Her daughter’s uncle, Lenin Rosa, sent an email to the school, school district, Harrisburg city and Dauphin County officials, requesting that the school district investigate further, that the student is disciplined accordingly, that staff who they believe did not act accordingly are held accountable, and that they assure parents that something like this would never happen again.
“This failure to conduct transparent due process exposes corruption and violates our laws,” wrote Rosa.
Superintendent Benjamin Henry said the district will look into the matter because of the facts Rosa raised and that officials would reach out soon.
“I am truly sorry for the trauma and fear this incident has caused your family,” Henry wrote in the statement.
News 8 contacted the district for more information about any discipline and how a lighter was brought into the school. Vargas said criminal charges remain possible if the family believes the investigation is not adequate.
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