Ruby Cir, Hartland, WI 53029

I attended Merton for many years. This school may seem appealing based on the academic numbers, but that often coincides with an environment that values power, status, and appearances. When you value fairness, trust, and empathy, you get punished for being "different." At Merton, I learned that sensitivity and honesty made you a problem, while cruelty went unchecked and even admired. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Over the years, multiple parents pulled their children out for similar reasons. I even recently reconnected with a former classmate who shared the same experiences of isolation and mistreatment. Administrators and teachers frequently did not practice what they preached when bullying was happening right in front of them.Through therapy, I learned I was never the problem. In fact, I would have been a model child and friend in a healthy environment. All the kids and even teachers who bullied me were part of a larger broken ecosystem that rewarded power and image over integrity and kindness. Today, I have a good life that I made for myself. I'm an advocate for many causes and a voice for the voiceless. I turned my trauma into action.I’m sharing this in hopes that Merton will look deeper than test scores and PR campaigns. True excellence is measured in compassion, not status. I hope one day, students like I was will finally be seen, believed, and cared for like children are supposed to be.