#30. Something Wasn’t Right
Beth Paulette, mom of four children, always made sure her children had everything they needed.
But one day, something strange happened to her son, and she decided to get to the bottom of it.
#29. Beth’s Story
Beth was a stay-at-home mom, so she dedicated all her time to her four children.
Every morning, she made sure her kids were ready before sending them off to school. This was until something changed with one of her sons.
#28. Breach of Trust
The two oldest sons always rode the bus to Virginia’s King & Queen Central High School.
Like every parent, Beth trusted the school to keep her children safe, but this was not the case.
#27. Something Went Wrong
All of a sudden, one of her sons started coming home complaining of really bad headaches every single day.
What could a mother do in that situation? At first, she gave him aspirin and hoped the migraines would go away, but they didn’t.
#26. Not Just a Headache
Things started to get serious when her other son also showed the same symptoms.
Beth started to get concerned, especially when the aspirin just didn’t work. So she decided to get to the bottom of it.
#25. Coincidence?
It just couldn’t be a coincidence. How could her two children just get headaches every single day?
At first, she thought the problem could have been dehydration. Unfortunately, it was more complicated than that.
#24. Whatever It Takes
Beth kept a close eye on her kids, triple checking they were asleep at night and reminding them to drink water.
She even considered that her children could be faking it to get out of doing homework, but it was clear there was something wrong.
#23. Could It Be Stress?
She though their headaches could be caused by stress.
She texted them throughout the day and asked them for updates to see if there could be a trigger.
#22. The Day Everything Changed
On a day just like any other, Beth was texting back and forth with her kids, as usual.
But when Beth asked them about their lunch, she had a shocking revelation.
#21. An Awful Revelation
The boys sent her a picture of their lunch, and Beth was horrified.
The cliché of the disgusting school lunch was nothing but real.
#20. The Horrible Truth
There were burnt ribs, pizza that looked like cardboard, and more.
Some items were so gross, she couldn’t even recognize what they were.
#19. The Explanation
That’s when something clicked in her head: this was the reason for their headaches.
Her boys were probably missing the necessary nutrients to function properly because the food was inedible!
#18. How and Why?
Turns out, the boys had low blood sugar, and even if they ate the food, they would have still suffered from some nasty symptoms.
The food was carbohydrate-heavy and there wasn’t a single vegetable in sight. How could this happen?
#17. A Mother’s Love
Beth also realized that her children were afraid of telling her that they had been skipping meals.
But how could she get mad at them? She knew it wasn’t their fault, and that she had to do something about it, so she came up with an idea.
#16. Spreading the Word
Beth decided to contact fellow parents and inform them of what happened.
But their reaction left Beth at a loss.
#15. A Heartbreaking Reaction
Most of the parents didn’t want to make any waves, and Beth felt helpless.
Apparently, she was the only one who cared about the wellbeing of the children, so she decided to fight for them.
#14. Not Giving Up
Beth realized that she needed her voice heard if the other parents wouldn’t listen.
She turned to a “higher power” instead…
#13. Spreading The News
She actually sent the horrifying pictures of the school lunch to WTVR CBS 6, hoping they would take her side.
It was a long shot, however. Maybe the TV channel wouldn’t be interested in what was going on in a tiny school and had other things to report on.
#12. Worth a Shot
Nevertheless, Beth took a chance and hoped the media would take notice.
As it turns out, the TV station agreed that the problem was indeed very serious, and so the reporters decided to do something about it.
#11. Taking Action
The station was determined to get to the bottom of it.
They set up a team of investigators to go to school and see if they could find some answers.
#10. What They Discovered
The investigators discovered that Beth’s kids weren’t the only ones skipping meals.
One student told the station “It looked so unappetizing, I could not bring myself to eat it at all.”
#9. Worse than You Might Think
Migraines weren’t the only side effect of skipping meals.
Lack of proper nutrition leads to a deficit in attention and basic functioning, meaning kids couldn’t focus in class at all.
#8. The Real Problem
In short, the problem was this: kids went to school only to be malnourished and couldn’t even focus on learning.
But who was responsible for this atrocity? The journalists figured it out.
#7. Time to Explain
The school superintendent, Dr. Stanley Jones, was the person responsible for making sure children are safe.
As such, Jones had to answer for this problem and face the journalists and the parents.
#6. A Shocking Revelation
Apparently, Jones was already aware of the issue. How could he let it happen?
According to him, the head of the school cafeteria had been suspended already after many complaints had been filed. But if she was suspended, why didn’t things change?
#5. The Other Side
Suzanne Gilbertson, the cafeteria head, told her side of the story.
According to her, things didn’t go down the way Jones explained.
#4. A Different Story
Gilbertson said that she wasn’t in charge when she was suspended, and actually advocated for the children.
According to her, she told the staff not to serve anything to the children they wouldn’t eat themselves.
#3. Placing Blame
So it seemed that nobody wanted to take the blame, and they all had different versions of what happened.
In spite of that, something needed to be done about the problem, and the school had to right the wrong.
#2. Under Pressure
If it weren’t for the pressure of the media, the school wouldn’t have done anything to fix the problem.
Luckily, the cameras were there to force Jones to finally offer a solution.
#1. The End
In the end, Jones promised a change. The school would no longer serve gruel to the kids and would make sure they were fed properly.
This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Beth’s determination. Oh, what a mother’s love can do!