Utah community still stands for Izzy Tichenor — and against bullying

NORTH SALT LAKE — Brittany Tichenor had no idea Friday that she would see images of her daughter projected on the building of the school where the then-10-year-old attended before her life ended four years ago.

On Nov. 6, 2021, Isabella "Izzy" Tichenor died by suicide after her family said she was bullied at her school over her race and being autistic.

There isn't a day that goes by that Brittany doesn't think about her daughter, remembering her smiling face and the joy she brought to people around her.

At a vigil held in Izzy's honor Friday night in the park next to Foxboro Elementary School, Brittany Tichenor could not hold back tears as she saw photos of her daughter's glowing face illuminated in bright lights on the school's brick facade, before dozens who attended the event.

"It broke my heart," she said. "It's so powerful, but there's so much pain."

Pain that the Tichenor family — as well as those who knew and cared about Izzy — has endured since her passing.

"The best thing that we can do is show up as a community," said Rae Duckworth, operating chairperson of the Black Lives Matter Utah Chapter, who helped organize Friday's vigil. "So we were able to basically project her photo in this park and just kind of remind Brittany and everyone here that like standing for Izzy is like a phenomenal thing that we are capable of doing and that we'll ensure that we do that every time."

Standing for Izzy and against bullying

While Friday's gathering was filled with hugs, memories of Izzy and a show of compassion for a grieving mother — Brittany Tichenor said the vigil was also a way to help others who may be navigating a form of bullying or struggling with mental health.

Tichenor said she's even had some parents with children who have faced similar experiences as Izzy reach out to her.

"I will show up to a school and sit right next to you," she told a group of attendees at the vigil. "I've had to do that a couple times with a couple parents, just to get the message out — like, this is not OK."

In its report for fiscal year 2024, the SafeUT program said that bullying was the top-reported tip among young children and teenagers, 26% of all tips submitted during the year. That was followed by tips from people having thoughts of suicide or of harming themselves (23%).

Tichenor knows what it's like to lose a child to suicide, and she wants to do all that she can to help prevent other parents from dealing with that pain.

She created the organization Izzy's Village in 2023, dedicated to linking children and their families, regardless of their background, with various resources based on their needs.

"Food, (or) even if they're homeless — just anything to make sure that that kid feels mentally and emotionally OK," she said.

Izzy's death in 2021 sparked a myriad of conversations surrounding suicide among youth and people of color, bullying and the treatment of children with disabilities.

At the time, the family alleged that numerous reports to staff at the school were made regarding the issues — but were ignored.

A two-year Department of Justice probe into Davis School District emerged Oct. 21, 2021, casting the system in a harsh light. Prompted by complaints from the public, federal investigators reviewed school records for the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, visited the district, met with district officials and teachers and interviewed students and community members.

"DOJ found severe, pervasive and objectively offensive race-based harassment in schools across the district. Parents and students informed DOJ that white students repeatedly called Black students the N-word despite the district's knowledge and without consequence," reads a Sept. 15, 2021, letter to the district's legal rep. White students also called Asian American students "pejorative slurs," the department found, and Black students were subjected to harsher discipline than white students for similar offenses.

In 2023, the Davis School District announced that it reached a $2 million settlement with Izzy's family.

This February, the Department of Justice announced that the school district had met the terms of an accord to address racial harassment and discrimination in the system and will no longer be monitored by federal officials.

Tichenor says schools need to be more accountable when bullying or harassment occurs on campuses.

"I think there needs to be a plan in place where the 'N word' is not accepted, period," she told KSL.com.

Empowering disclosure

During the vigil, amid lit candles and flowers placed throughout the setting, community members and fellow advocates offered words of encouragement and resources for people to seek out.

Gregory Noel, a marriage and family therapist, spoke passionately about the gravity of Friday's vigil, emphasizing the need for intentional and specific communication with children to address acts of bullying or discrimination they could be facing.

"We have to become very specific with our children because our children are not telling us everything," he said. "Our children, counterintuitively, are wanting to have less issues for us as their parents."

He hopes parents and guardians can explore ways to empower their young ones to open up about their mental health struggles or when something is not right.

Noel said while he remains heartbroken over Izzy's death, he hopes that her story inspires families to intervene if they suspect their child is experiencing similar trauma.

"As a mental health professional, I find myself pained by what happened to baby girl Izzy (and) why I'm here. But then also I find myself hopeful in the sense of, how can we do better and how can we be more preventative as a community?" he added.

Tichenor echoed that sentiment, encouraging parents to routinely check in with their kids and empower them to speak up if something is wrong.

"Just check on them mentally," she said. "Do mental checks; I feel like mental checks in the morning, when you pick them up from school and at night."

While the pain and sorrow of losing her daughter won't go away, Tichenor said she hopes Izzy will always be remembered for her kind and loving spirit.

"She treated people how she wanted to be treated, and it didn't matter your race or gender, like she was nice to everybody," she said.

As part of a settlement the family previously reached with the Davis School District, there will be a statue of Izzy placed inside the elementary school's library that aims to keep her memory alive.

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