Peabody City Council meets for first time since death of middle school student, calls for change

PEABODY, Mass. — Peabody city councilors held a moment of silence Thursday night for Jason Bernard, the 8th grader who died last week.

“Jason’s passing has left a real deep imprint on our city, so many have been affected at this time, we’ve just been thinking about the family, the students at the Higgins Middle School, and try to support them the very best we can,” said Mayor Edward Bettencourt.

Jason’s family tells Boston 25 News he was a victim of bullying, and he took his own life.

Since his death, Boston 25 News has heard from many parents concerned about the bullying in schools.

One mother says it was a constant issue over the last two years for her daughter.

“She would come home crying from them bullying her almost every day, it was at least three or four times a week, it was horrible,” said Valerie, a Peabody mother.

Valerie says her daughter was bullied both physically and verbally in Peabody schools while in the first and second grades.

She says that at one point, a girl kicked her in the face, and another time, a boy made death threats towards her.

“He literally starts talking about ways to kill her after school to his whole table, and like really descriptive ways of killing her,” said Valerie.

Valerie says that when she went to the teacher and principal, nothing was done, and no official reports were made, so she reported the assaults to police, who helped her solve the issues.

“There needs to be accountability if someone is consistently bullying someone over and over again; they need to get kicked out of the school,” said Valerie. “I don’t understand how they can allow someone to continue to disrupt other children’s educations and make it an unsafe environment.”

Boston 25 News asked the mayor of Peabody whether changes should be made in schools to crack down on bullying.

“It’s a major concern, this is something that we as a community, and I think all communities, but Peabody, we really need to do some work and we need to come together as a community, be united and find solutions as best we can,” said Mayor Bettencourt. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us.”

Mayor Bettencourt says he’s also planning a community conversation involving mental health experts and school officials following the death of this student.

“There’s a lot of discussions taking place right now, and I really believe Jason’s tragic passing will spur on real change and real improvement in our city,” said Mayor Bettencourt.

The principal of Higgins Middle School sent a letter to families saying all absences are excused on Friday if any student wants to attend Jason’s funeral or if they choose to stay home.

There’s also a vigil planned for Jason Friday night at 6:30 PM near his home.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group