Community rallies around girl who was brutally beaten by gang at Clark Middle School; radio hosts will walk her back to school Thursday

The mother of a girl who was beaten by a mob at Clark Middle School went before the Anchorage School Board on Tuesday to testify on behalf of all children and youth in Anchorage schools who have been bullied and beaten.

Now, a local KWHL radio host is organizing concerned community members to walk her back to school on Thursday morning as a show of community support, and to provide the family with emotional support as the girl returns to the violent campus.

Natasha Guthrie told the school board that on March 26 her daughter was beaten and kicked over 41 times in the Clark Middle School gymnasium, while other students videotaped the beating and offered no assistance.

“Four teachers were present in the gym at the time of this assault, which took 42 seconds from start to finish for anyone to intervene,” Guthrie told the board.

She also described three incidences that took place at Clark Middle School in 2023, two of which happened within 24 hours of each other resulting in the arrest of four juveniles on April 18, and four more on April 19, when the school was placed into lockdown mode due to uncontrolled violence.

After her daughter transferred to Clark in January of 2024, “I attempted 13 times to schedule a meeting with school officials between January 25 and February 16 regarding bullying and harassment along with racial slurs that had been targeted toward my daughter. On Jan. 24, my daughter contacted me after she had been threatened that 10 Polynesian girls were going to jump her,” Guthrie said.

“On Jan. 32, I spoke to Mr. Kelkis. I advised him that these girls were harassing my daughter and taking photos of her in class. On Feb 2, I got a call from my sister that my daughter had been slapped in the head,” Guthrie said. Another time, the girl was slapped in the face. The school official told the mother it was accidental.

The harassment accelerated until the incident on March 26, when a group of girls entered the gym with the apparent purpose of targeting her daughter for a beating that has been preceded by racist name-calling.

Guthrie had reported the harassment, bullying, and threats to Anchorage Police on Feb 3, and again in March. The school did not report the beating to the police.

Earlier in March, Guthrie’s daughter was suspended for protecting herself after she was shoved into the fight by another student; that incident was caught on videotape and it’s clear she was shoved into a fight.

Guthrie also appeared on the Bob and Brock radio show on KWHL FM to describe the beatings and harassment. Lester has invited the community to join him in helping to walk Peyton to the school door on Thursday, which will be her first day back at school since the March 26 beating; she has been recovering at home. Community members who wish to support the Guthries can meet at 7:55 am in front of the school, at 150 Bragaw Street.