Highlands Ranch teen standing up to bullies in her school through silent protests

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. -- Getting attention isn't something 16-year-old Sabrina Inman craves, but says she has to do whatever it takes to get her school's attention.

“I've done this one big thing and I’m going to keep going until something is done,” Inman told Denver7.

Inman, who attends ThunderRidge High school, says bullying is prevalent in her school.

“You would see kids crying in the bathroom and eating alone in the hallway, for half of the year last year, I was one of those people who sat alone,” she said. 

Inman added the bullying continued on into this year.

“I was being called names like rat and w---e and I still get called them [sic] today,” said Inman.

The bullying has consumed Inman and it's not only painful to her, but for her parents as well.

“I feel horrible for her that she can't even just go to school and put her head down and study,” said Sabrina Inman’s father, Mike Inman.

Sabrina’s father told Denver7 they've reported eight incidents to the school. One of the incidents was reported to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

“I just thought enough is enough and that something needs to change,” said Inman.

Last week, Inman duct taped her face and held a note silently protesting the school’s problem with bullying. On Monday, she wore shirts she made with the words “ Do I have your attention?” written on them.

She is handing out the shirts to fellow students at her school in hopes of drawing attention to the problem.

“I’m just hoping that they realize that they have a problem and that they need to fix it,” said Inman.

The Douglas County School District released the following statement:

"Bullying is a serious issue. The Douglas County School District works tirelessly to build compassion and empathy in our students to prevent bullying from ever happening in the first place, and we respond to every single allegation of bullying in our schools. We also have a team that partners with schools to build a positive and connected culture among our students. The DCSD Prevention and School Culture team works with our schools to spread awareness of the DCSD Student Wellness and Prevention Framework, which teaches students how to recognize when they need help and where to find it.

In accordance with our anti-bullying policies, any staff member who witnesses any form of bullying must stop the bullying immediately, and report the incident. Additionally, students and parents are always encouraged to bring any concern to a trusted school staff member or administrator. That way, immediate and appropriate action is taken for the safety of our students. Additionally, students and parents can report a concern anonymously and 24-7 through programs like Text-a-Tip or Safe2Tell.

Although DCSD won't discuss details surrounding this particular student, the allegations made by the student were thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately. This is the process followed for every alleged incident reported in one of our schools, and it was fully implemented in this student's case."

-  Paula Hans, DCSD Public Information Officer