Shannon Frye Dodds says she’s posting her son’s story so other parents can see what happened, and because she fears the school will try to silence them.
Her 12-year-old son, Frankie, who is on the autism spectrum, was slapped at Beechwood Middle School in mid-September, she says.
After Frankie reported the assault to a coach, the school removed him from the football team and told the family the action was over “grades.”
“The bullying started end of August. I let him join the football team big mistake,” Shannon wrote.
She says the sequence of events is chilling and straightforward: “On Thursday November 8, my sweet spectrum baby was slapped in the face! Friday the 12th he told coach & that following Monday Frankie was pulled from class and told he was off the team bc of ‘grades’.”
Shannon adds that it wasn’t the end of a grading period and that Frankie’s removal felt retaliatory: “I call bs bc it wasn’t end of semester etc.”
The concerned says Frankie didn’t tell administrators or guidance at first because he had been “blown off multiple times.”
Two students later notified guidance, but Shannon says school officials never contacted her.
When she went to the school demanding to file an assault report, she says the administrators, guidance counselor, and the school resource officer “blew me off.”
She says staff asked only for “his library book & $45 for his iPad charger” as she withdrew him.
While Frankie was pulled from the team, Shannon alleges the student who slapped him remained on the roster.
“This was on a Tuesday, that next day bully is playing in the game & has since every game!” she wrote.
After working to improve his grades, Frankie found that his name had already been removed from the roster, and he only received his gym bag and cleats during PE. The family then withdrew him from school.
A ton of Support from the Community
Shannon describes an escalation of harassment after the slap: food thrown at him in the cafeteria, weekly tears, threats that left him texting his mother he was scared, and repeated slurs.
“The part that killed my heart was the school KNEW he was calling my kid a ‘retard’ & did NOTHING,” she wrote.
The emotional toll was immediate: “He didn’t want to do ‘this’ anymore,” she said, repeating the message that convinced her to pull Frankie from school.
“That he’s going to be the reason bully’s get charged with murder… My child said those words !!! He put THAT much thought into it.”
Across Shannon’s post, neighbors and parents responded with anger and support. “Please give him the Biggest hug for me! This breaks my heart, no kid deserves to feel that way,” wrote Alyssa Rubens.
Donna Underwood Lawson wrote, “This makes my blood boil. I pray the news media gets involved!” and Carolyn Frye urged, “You need to take this to Fox News; money can’t hide this.”
Bodie Frye advised legal action: “Sue every one involved and the district for allowing it to get swept under the rug.”
Others offered practical advice and consolation, while several individuals urged Shannon not to be silenced and to push the complaint up the chain of command.
Samantha Decker Knight suggested keeping a paper trail and contacting law enforcement and the district, listing outlets and agencies to contact.
Multiple commenters described similar experiences with the district, with one parent writing, “Why I home school for the last 4 years. Best decision I have ever made for them.”
Shannon blamed the accused student’s family influence for the school’s inaction. “I do my research to find his family is upper crust of Lexington. They hold titles. Now it makes sense!” she wrote.
In follow-up posts, she said that more people had privately confirmed similar incidents and warned that other children could be at risk if nothing changed.
Shannon asked anyone with information to message her privately and expressed her gratitude for the support.
“Apparently, there are more that know what has been happening than I thought but didnt say anything out of fear. If anyone wants to share anything please private message me. I don’t want other kids feeling anything even close to what Frankie felt,” she added.
The school and district have not yet provided a public response in the posts Shannon shared; commenters repeatedly urged her to take the complaint to district officials and local law enforcement if the school does not act.
