ESSEX JCT., Vt. (WCAX) – The Essex Westford School District says they saw an increase in harassment complaints from students in the days following the election.
The school says they usually get two to three reports a week but last week they had 12. They say the reports centered on race, national origin, gender identity, and sex.
Erin Maguire, the district’s equity and inclusion director says she doesn’t think all the complaints were directly related to the election but said some of the complaints referred to it. “It is our job to care for everyone which means that when there are disagreements within our society that show up in our school, trying to make sure to teach students into supporting civil discourse, supporting ways of understanding how not to be discriminatory,” she said.
Because of the increase, the school reached out to families to ask them to talk with children about reporting incidents and to talk to their kids about empathy and kindness.
The school isn’t alone. Nationally, online rhetoric against women surged 4,600 percent on Thursday and Friday, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.