CRANBURY: HIB report released

By Kaitlyn Kanzler, Special Writer
   CRANBURY – The Board of Education presented the end of the year Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) status report at their June 19 meeting, citing good results.
   According to Chief School Administrator, Dr. Susan Genco from September to December there were 10 cases of bullying from September to December out of a total of approximately 581 students.
   ”Out of the 10 cases, seven were confirmed, one was non-actionable, and two were unfounded,” Dr. Genco said.
   According to Dr. Genco, there was a mix of parent, student, and staff reports and the punishments ranged from loss of privileges to suspensions. There were three parent reports, one student report, and six staff reports of bullying.
   ”It’s a very low number,” Board President Lynne Schwarz said.
   The types of bullying that were reported included, name calling, threats, inappropriate comments, and physical behaviors.
   On Feb. 14, the school held a safety team meeting where they planned training for parents and staff members.
   Board member Kathy Wasson, who heads the safety team, said the team discusses having peer leaders monitor the hot spot areas for bullying, and then become mentors and work on issues together.
   ”A child’s greatest need is acceptance,” Dr. Genco said. “Connections will strengthen your relationships, and problem solving. So while we provide consequence, we provide the opportunity for students to work on their problem solving skills.”
   According to the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, in a 2009 United States Departments of Justice and Education study, 32 percent of students between the ages of 12 and 18 were bullied the previous year, and 25 percent of the responding schools said that bullying was a daily or weekly problem
   In a 2009 Center for Disease Control and Prevention study, New Jersey was one percentage point higher than the national median of students bullied.
   For more information on HIB, contact Michele Waldron, the Anti-Bullying Coordinator for the Cranbury School at (609)395-1700, Ext. 225.