:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/6GJJ7QAVBFEGNGO4JNKTKCIOJA.jpg)
Hampton — When students walked out of all four high schools Monday afternoon in Hampton, they were responding to a social media campaign for support of an elementary school-aged girl.
Nikia Miller’s oldest daughter began to plan the walkout last month. The 15-year-old told her mother she wanted to organize a peaceful protest after seeing what her family experienced since they began to speak publicly about her younger sister’s sexual assault allegations.
The 15-year-old posted about the demonstration on social media, her mother said in an interview, not expecting the response she received.
“She said it was a moment where she felt really accepted, and she felt like people understood what she was trying to do, and she felt supported,” Miller said.
Miller has said her younger daughter was sexually assaulted by another student in 2020, and has maintained since then that Hampton school officials have not met her demands to support her daughter’s well-being.
School officials have denied that, saying their response was appropriate. And in a message sent to parents Monday night the Hampton school division said assertions made in sparking the walkout were not accurate. The school division did not name Miller or her daughter.
Those assertions were about sexual allegations involving two second-grade students, the division said in a statement. The social media post claimed school officials did not take those allegations seriously.
The two participated in separate after-school programs, the statement said.
School officials notified Hampton police. According to a police report, the two girls were ages 7 and 9 when school administrators and police found out. The city’s prosecutor later opted not to file charges.
In addition, when school officials became aware of the incident, they “took proactive actions including, at the parent’s request, enrolling the aggrieved student at another school and offering counseling.”
The school system added that if required, it “welcomes the opportunity for a court to examine this situation as the division is confident that at all times (Hampton schools) personnel acted appropriately.”
The statement said that there are better avenues than social media for parents to present concerns about how school officials handle incidents.
To protect the students’ privacy, the school system said it could provide no further details.
Today's Top Stories
Miller said she fully supports her daughter’s actions and she appreciates the support other students showed during the walkout.
A Hampton schools spokesperson said the division supports “peaceful assembly.” Students who did not follow the district’s Code of Conduct faced consequences. The division did not say what those consequences were, nor how many students were disciplined.
Dave Ress, 757-247-4535, dress@dailypress.com
Sierra Jenkins, 229-462-8896, sierra.jenkins@virginiamedia.com