An 11-year-old Arkansas boy ended up hospitalized after months of what his mother describes as unaddressed bullying at his elementary school, and when he returned to class this week, his community showed up dressed head to toe in blue. Miranda Patrick says her son, Wyatt Hutchins, a sixth grader at Barton Elementary School in the Helena-West Helena area, had been bullied for months before the crisis came to a head.
According to WREG, Patrick said that on October 8, Wyatt ended up in the hospital after banging his head into a freezer and trying to cut himself with scissors. The Daily Mail reported a somewhat different account of the same day, saying Wyatt was rushed to the hospital from school after banging his head into a milk cooler and stabbing himself with a pair of scissors. Patrick said the scissors did not actually cut him — “the scissors would not cut, thank God,” she said — though she said Wyatt had previously stabbed himself with a paper clip in an earlier attempt to hurt himself.
Wyatt spent several days in a mental health facility following the incident, the station's report states. Patrick said she had tried several times to talk to school administrators about the bullying before that day but says she got no help. “Not one single piece of paper was filed until the day he had his incident,” Patrick said.
A Zero-Tolerance Policy, Applied Too Late, Mother Says
Patrick said the Barton School District has a zero-tolerance policy on bullying, but that no one was disciplined until after her son harmed himself. Barton School District Superintendent Megan Guthrie told the station she could not comment on anything involving a student. The same report notes that the outlet contacted the district to ask why the bullying was not addressed sooner, and no response had been received by the time of publication.
Arkansas Department of Education guidance instructs schools to report recurring bullying incidents, keep a written record of any action taken, and assess whether a student is at risk of harm, according to the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. Separate guidance from the division states that, as soon as reasonably practicable, a school must notify a child's legal guardian when the child is believed to be the target of bullying and prepare a written report of the alleged incident, per the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education's bullying FAQ page.
Wyatt's Return to School, Wrapped in Blue
Reluctant to go back to school on Tuesday, Wyatt was ultimately welcomed back with what the station described as a sea of blue. Patrick said she organized the event to get parents and students to show their support for Wyatt by wearing blue and standing up to bullying — and said it was about more than just her own son. “It wasn't just about Wyatt; it's about all of them,” Patrick said.
Before Wyatt left home that morning, Patrick wrote “armor of God” on his arm. Per Patrick, teachers, the principal, and some high school students wore blue that day, and Wyatt said thousands of people took part, including about half of the school. Wyatt said the day was perfect, and that wearing blue made him feel good.
A person dressed as Deadpool also visited Wyatt at school and gave him gifts, and Wyatt said he was amazed when he realized the visitor looked like the Marvel character. He now says he looks forward to returning to school and wants to stay because he has many friends there. Patrick said she simply wants Wyatt to be happy and feel safe at school, and that she wanted to make a statement about bullying through the event.
A Statewide Problem Long Flagged by Officials
The episode lands against a backdrop of longstanding concern about bullying in Arkansas schools. A preliminary report from the Arkansas School Safety Commission found that Arkansas was ranked highest in the nation for the percentage of high school students who said they were bullied on school property, at 26.7%, according to the Arkansas School Safety Commission. The same report found Arkansas ranked second in the nation, behind only Louisiana, in the percentage of high school students who said they had attempted suicide, at 15.8% in 2017.
In response to those findings, the commission recommended that every school district be required to implement an evidence-based anti-bullying program, that student access to mental health services be expanded, and that districts conduct school climate surveys to guide action plans. Arkansas schools are required to maintain anti-bullying policies and report bullying incidents under Arkansas Code § 6-18-514, per the commission's report.
