Gulfstream Academy getting new principal in wake of teen arrests following brutal school beating

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A South Florida school that parents say has been plagued by bullies, with two recent arrests on the record, is getting some new leadership.

Back in April a flight was caught on camera in which a 13-year-old was knocked unconscious at Gulfstream Academy.

Two teens were arrested that month over the fight.

Now we’re learning the school will have a new principal.

“Watching my daughter cry on a daily basis and just trying to understand,” said Christina Neptune, the mother of that 13-year-old girl. “Why does she has to go through what she has to go through?”

The vicious attack on Neptune’s daughter happened in the cafeteria of the Hallandale Beach school.

In the months since then, a growing number of parents and community leaders have been calling for accountability, with some even demanding the removal of school principal, Tarshe Freeman.

They point to what they say is a growing problem with violence at the K through 8 school.

Documents obtained by Local 10 News show the principal is being reassigned from Gulfstream, a school with over 1,400 students, to Broward Estates Elementary, with 288 students.

A school board spokesperson declined to comment on the reassignment or tell Local 10 News if the move was a result of the calls for accountability or their investigation into what happened.

Rawsi Williams is the victim’s attorney.

“There were staff in the cafeteria but the kids were still able to beat Victoria literally unconscious,” Williams said. “It’s like just taking a band aid off of a wound and applying another dressing but never really doing what is necessary.”

A spokesperson for the union representing school principals in South Florida had spoken in defense of the principal, saying security is not the responsibility of a school principal.

The new school principal at Gulfstream Academy will be Carlton Campbell from Pines Middle School.


About the Author:

Christian De La Rosa joined Local 10 News in April 2017 after spending time as a reporter and anchor in Atlanta, San Diego, Orlando and Panama City Beach.