BRONZEVILLE — Ariah Black was looking forward to her first day of sixth grade at Pershing STEAM Magnet Elementary School. After years of homeschooling, the shy, quiet preteen welcomed the idea of making new friends.

Then a neighborhood bully changed everything.

Now, Black and her mother, Ashley Jefferson, are demanding Chicago Public Schools hold the staff at Pershing, 3200 S. Calumet Ave., accountable for ignoring months of bullying from an older classmate. They say school officials did not take the bullying seriously and allowed it to worsen.

Jefferson is calling for stricter enforcement of the district’s anti-bullying policy and an evaluation of the magnet school’s principal and staff by an independent community board. The family is also exploring the possibility of seeking compensat

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