SCHOOL DISTRICT BULLYING PREVENTION "NOT DOING ENOUGH"

The school district's efforts to counter and prevent harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) is improving, but is still not at the level it should be after three years of implementing a state-mandated anti-bullying program.

Board Attorney Phil Stern, whose office oversees the HIB prevention program, issued the latest self-assessment of the district's efforts at Monday night's school board meeting.

"We still have a lot of work to do," he declared.

The self-assessment is conducted by HIB experts who review the district's efforts at training, implementation, reporting incidents, preventing, and investigating bullying. The review is required under a 2010 state law.

The district's overall self-assessment rating has increased from 53.4 in 2013 to 64.2 in 2014 to 67.3 this year. But that is out of a top possible rating of 78. 

And while increases were seen at Columbia High School, South Orange Middle School, Clinton, Seth Boyden, South Mountain Annex and Tuscan, ratings dropped for Maplewood Middle School, Jefferson, and Marshall.

Stern called that "troubling."

See the related data HERE.

"The problem appears to be primarily in the area that the letter and spirit of the HIB law is finding its way into curriculum in the district,." Stern said. "We're not doing enough."