PHOENIX – Serious concerns surround a private school in Phoenix after a shocking incident was confirmed by a police report obtained by FOX 10. A sixth grader was allegedly forced into a bathroom by older students who stripped him of his clothing. Parents are now questioning how this could happen on campus and if the school’s response was sufficient.
The All Saints’ Episcopal Day School campus is pristine, a 15-acre property for a little more than 500 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Established in 1963 and located near Maryland and Central Avenues, the school boasts academic excellence, character cultivation and community. The annual tuition is nearly $25,000, but parents say that price doesn’t mean students are immune to bad behavior.
All Saints’ Episcopal Day School campus in Phoenix
“Speaking to other parents, from hearing about things that have been reported to the leadership from the occurrences that have happened at school, it seems pretty obvious there is an issue of bullying at the school,” said a former parent at All Saints’ Episcopal Day School, who we will call “Jane” to remain anonymous. She has since withdrawn her children from the school due to multiple concerns, including bullying.
The backstory:
According to a police report from February 24, officers initially responded to a call for “sexual abuse of a juvenile.” The report says a sixth-grade boy reported being taken into a bathroom unwillingly by other boys who removed his clothes, leaving him in his underwear on February 13 and February 20. The head of All Saints’, Dr. Emma Whitman, showed officers security camera videos from the hallway that captured multiple students physically moving the boy to the bathroom in both incidents. The three suspects were 14 at the time and in eighth grade.
“So, the interesting thing is, Justin, I know that information of what happened, because you have just told me,” Jane said.
According to police, the victim’s teacher did not think this was a serious issue when the student came forward on Thursday, February 20, and the head of the school did not find out until the next day.
The school says it called Phoenix PD on Feb 21.
Phoenix Police said it was able to “locate a prior call on February 21, 2025, at around 7:58 pm; however, when the officer arrived, nobody was there for contact. The officer contacted the individual who placed the call and stated they would call back on Monday (February 24, 2025) to submit a report.”
What they’re saying:
Jane says there was a lack of transparency from All Saints’ after this unfolded. “So come, Monday is when a lot of the parents were emailing other parents. They were asking questions, and that’s when the school was forced to address it,” she said.
Two days later on February 26, an internal email from Whitman to the school’s families announced an “active investigation regarding several students,” also saying that “immediate action” was taken the same day that the second incident happened. The messaging cited children’s privacy and warned that the “spreading of misinformation” has “slowed the resolution of this issue.”
Jane says requests for a school community meeting on bullying concerns were shut down.
“Why are you not willing to address the parent community as a whole? Surely, it’s time-saving, because a lot of us have the same questions. So therefore, you can just answer us all in one go rather than doing it one by one. Me personally, it does not make sense to me. I don’t understand that, but the open communication just isn’t there,” she said.
Youth mental health advocate Katey McPherson has spent 25 years on school campuses, studying how bullying has evolved firsthand. She advocated for families of victims impacted by teen violence in the East Valley.
“Whatever was reported was most likely under-reported,” McPherson said. “When this type of thing happens to any child, but specifically boys that age, they typically tend to want it to go away, underreport it and not press charges because in boy world, snitches get stitches.”
Arizona law requires anyone working with children closely to call law enforcement if a child reports abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect.
“Parents are mandatory reporters, substitute teachers, teachers, administrators. Anybody who’s in a position of trust, a position of authority, board of trustee members, governing board members, anybody who we would say is here to protect children, has to make a report within a very short amount of time,” McPherson said.
The other side:
A spokesperson released this statement on behalf of All Saints’: “Our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our students. Student behavior that is out of step with the expectations outlined in our parent-student handbook is reviewed thoroughly and consistently to determine appropriate action. We take seriously our responsibility as mandated reporters and contacted the necessary authorities on Friday, February 21, 2025. Per the police report, an officer was dispatched during school hours on Monday, February 24. We fully cooperated with the authorities.”
As for the first incident on February 13, police learned that the victim did not feel comfortable telling his substitute teacher about what had happened. Police say none of the kids involved were interviewed due to All Saints’ placing them on a leave of absence once the school’s investigation began, but the victim’s father did speak to Phoenix police later.
“I mean, this is like… alarm bells, immediate presence of police, you want to preserve the conversations among students as well,” McPherson said.
Per the report, the father said that the group of boys told his son “they did not like him” as one boy grabbed him from behind while others started taking off his clothing.
“There’s no excuse as to why witnesses were not interviewed,” McPherson said.
The victim’s dad felt that the consequences brought by the school would be sufficient, declining to press charges and the case was closed.
“As soon as the police get called on campus, you should address the whole parenthood of the school because that’s the next level of bullying,” Jane said. She believes she made the right choice for her kids to start a new academic chapter.
“It was a decision that as soon as I made, I felt a weight was lifted off me,” she said.
What you can do:
If you have a tip for our investigations team, email fox10investigates@fox.com.
Map of All Saints’ location
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