MONTPELIER, Vt. -
An in-depth report shows bullying is on the rise in Vermont. More students than ever before are harassing others. But there is good news here too, more is being done about the growing problem.
"One child who gets bullied or harassed is great statistically, but if you're that one child or that one parent of the child, it's not good enough," Department of Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca said.
So the fact that there were more than 19-hundred incidents reported in Vermont schools last year is a problem. Even though that number is too high, it's actually only a slight up tick.
"It's about two percent per year," Dept. of Ed. Business Analyst, Mike Bailey said.
Schools are required to report student misconduct annually, and with that data, the Department of Education looks at patterns and trends to see how schools can better respond and provide support for the victim and the bully.
"The goal is to always protect kids so that they feel like they can go to school, get a good education," Commissioner Vilaseca said.
Boys in grades six through eight are responsible for the most incidents; anything from perceived sexual orientation, weight or race make some students a target.
Students at Montpelier High School say bullying isn't really a problem, they're proud of their tolerant state and school but the only thing they could come up with is a little bit of rivalry between the seniors and the freshman.
"They're less mature and there's more of this gossipy stuff and I know that we were there at one point," Students, Allison Lau and Sammy Rivera said.
So as more students learn to accept and respect their peers, we can turn these statistics around.
Recently, a harassment, hazing and bullying advisory council was formed to come up with more solutions.
It's important to be a good role model too, the Commissioner says society should have equal expectations about what's happening in the community as it does about what's happening in schools.
