Mom of Chicago teen driven to suicide calls for former school head to be axed from new job

A mother whose teenage son was driven to suicide by bullies at his elite private school wants its former boss to be fired from his prestigious new job for allegedly failing to prevent the tragedy, or discipline her son’s tormentors.  

Rosellen Bronstein, 48, filed a $100 million against the Latin School of Chicago and its former principal, Randall Dunn, 57, claiming the administrators ignored her son, Nate’s, plea for help after months of relentless bullying. 

After finding out that Dunn was leaving to be the head of the prestigious Rye Country Day School, in Westchester, New York, come July, Bronstein called for Dunn to be canned. 

The grieving mom said: ‘I am warning all the parents of (Rye Country School.) This is going to happen again. Their kids are not going to be protected in that school under Dunn…’

‘Dunn does not care about students,’ Bronstein told the New York Post. ‘He cares about himself and his career. He’s a fraud. He is dishonest.’

Dunn earned $750,000-a-year while at the Latin School, and will almost certainly be on at least $1m-a-year at Rye, with the educator he’s replacing currently on a $1.18 million salary.  

Rosellen Bronstein (left) demanded fromer Latin School of Chicago Principal Randall Dunn (right) be canned from his new job at the prestigious Rye Country Day School, in Westchester, New York, because he allegedly failed to help her son, who comitted suicide in January

Nate, 15, had hung himself after months of bullying at school, which began as false rumors spread about him being vaccinated. Bronstein claims administrators knew about the relentless bullying but failed to do anything to stop it

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The heartbroken parents, Rosellen and Robert (left) are suing Dunn and the school district for $100 million and want Dunn to stay away from the students in New York 

Rye says it’s standing by Dunn, that it had contacted the Latin School of Chicago for more details on Nate’s suicide, and hailed Dunn as an experienced and caring educator.

A spokesperson told the Post: ‘Student safety is of paramount importance to the RCDS Board of Trustees, which is comprised almost entirely of current parents. 

‘A committee of trustees has been scrutinizing the details of this tragic case and has not found evidence that would support the aggressive claims against Mr. Dunn or that would raise safety concerns for the RCDS community.

‘Mr. Dunn has an exemplary, 30-year track record as a compassionate and ethical educator, and we look forward to him joining RCDS.’ 

Nate, 15, hanged himself in January following months of bullying, which his parents said was started in-part by a false rumor that he had been unvaccinated, according to court documents. 

The suit went on to expound on incidents that stemmed from the rumors, like when Nate had been approached at school by students on two separate occasions, with both students asking him if his parents were ‘anti-vaxxers.’

Nate’s parents reached out to the school to resolve the matter, which only made matters worse because it led to continued harassment of the 15-year-old boy. 

Another incident detailed in the lawsuit alleges that around October or November, Latin School geometry teacher Andrew Sanchez relentlessly accosted Nate in front of the entire class, telling the class that Nate was ‘going nowhere in life.’ 

Bronstein said she was afraid that what happened to Nate would also happen to students at the Rye Country School if Dunn was left in charge. 

The Latin School of Chicago has denied the Bronstein’s claims and said that they, too, were saddened by Nate’s suicide. 

‘The school’s faculty and staff are compassionate people who put students’ interests first, as they did in this instance,’ the school said in a statement after the lawsuit was initially filed in April. 

‘While we are not, at this time, going to comment on any specific allegation in this difficult matter, the school will vigorously defend itself, its faculty and its staff against these unfounded claims.’ 

The school’s administration could not be immediately reached for comment.  

Nate had been repeatedly ridiculed by his fellow students over false rumors that he was unvaccinated and that his parents were ‘anti-vaxxers.’ Bronstein also claimed Nate was humiliated in front of his class by a teacher who  allegedly said the teen had no direction in life

Nate was still adjusting as a a new transfer last fall to the Latin School of Chicago, an elite $55,000-a-year private school (pictured)

Bronstein told the Post that she truly believes her son would still be alive today if a different person had been in charge, claiming that Dunn and his administration was more preoccupied with enforcing ‘woke’ policies than helping her white son. 

‘They spent more time yelling at my son about keeping his nose covered with that f**king mask than teaching the kids to be inclusive and kind and thoughtful and caring,’ she said.

‘They are very focused on their [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] stuff and all their progressive bulls—t,’ she added. 

‘I can assure you that if my son was black and this happened, this would have been handled a lot differently. But my son was a white Jewish kid.’ 

The Bronstein’s lawsuit also details text threats and snapchat messages exchanged between Nate and school classmates, one of which encourages Nate to kill himself, and another was understood to be an indirect death threat.

Bronstein (left) claimed that Dunn and his administration was more preoccupied with enforcing ‘woke’ policies than helping her white son

On December 13, 2021, Nate met with the dean of students to report the bullying, but the dean took no disciplinary action against any student. Nate’s report was also kept from his parents, the suit claims.

The Bronsteins told CBS News they were never told that Nate had asked for a meeting with his dean of students to report the harassment.

‘It had been kept from us, so that’s why we were completely, completely taken off guard when this happened,’ said Robert Bronstein.

According to the Illinois General Assembly Public Act, every school in the state, including private schools, must have an anti-bullying policy.

That policy must include information about how bullying should be reported and how it is to be investigated, and also that bullying incidents must be reported to the parents of those involved.

The family stresses that they are not suing Latin for the money. Instead, they’ve pledged to donate any money gained through legal proceedings to anti-bullying and anti-suicide charities – with their goal of helping others in similar situations.