BRATTLEBORO — A whistleblower whose complaint with the federal government resulted in a 2018 ruling requiring additional training within the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union is questioning if schools are making any progress in dealing with bullying.
"Something needs to change," said Heidi Henkel, a tutor who was fired by the WSESU in 2013 after reporting bullying. "I don't know what the problem is but this is not OK."
For Henkel, the issue has not been resolved. A former student and a current student at Brattleboro Area Middle School shared their experiences of racial bullying in a letter to the editor and an interview with the Reformer earlier this year. In addition, a newly released report from the School Resource Officer Task Force shows Brattleboro Union High School students feel unheard when they report incidents to the administration. And Henkel had seen a big discussion about widespread bullying at Putney Central School on a Facebook page for the Putney community.
"That's why I'm so frustrated," she said. "Four years after that ruling, how can this still be happening?"
Employed by a tutoring company, Henkel worked in schools within WSESU. She tutored about 10 students at the high school, middle school and Putney Central School.
Henkel described "rampant bullying" in all three schools.
"I was hearing a lot of complaints about bullying from different people," said Henkel, who feels people often told her about their problems with bullying after they had already...
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