I just think kids are having a hard time with him because he doesn’t talk. He sits with a big group of boys at lunch from his grade (mostly the athletes) but he doesn’t talk at all unless someone asks him a direct question (per my friend’s son). So I just think no one is rushing to sit next to a kid that doesn’t say anything. He hasn’t been bullied at all and kids seem like they are nice enough to him but besides his 2 friends, no one invites him to do anything. Overall he seems content but I know he would like more kids to hang out with. Our town is different and kids go to school together from kindergarten till senior year. No kids are added unless they are new to town. I don’t love it but I do think it can help with bullying as a lot of his peers are in our neighborhood and he used to be friends with them and many others in town he’s played sports with over the years.
We’ve thought about a smaller boys school for him but the ones around us tend to be very sport focused and the grades are equal if not bigger in size than our public high school. I think where he might flourish is a small boarding school with a ski focus as that is his passion but unfortunately financially that’s not an option.