Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
While the overall number of incidents reported in the annual Violence and Vandalism report increased between the 2015-16 school year and the 2016-17 school year, Hopewell Valley Regional School District officials attributed at least some of the increases to better reporting.
The overall number of incidents of violence increased from 2 to 11, and the number of incidents of substance abuse rose from 7 to 24, according to the state-mandated annual report.
There were three instances of violence at the Timberlane Middle School and four incidents at Hopewell Valley Central High School. Four incidents occurred at the Hopewell Elementary School, and all were committed by one student, said Anthony Suozzo, the school district’s director of human resources and its anti-bullying coordinator.
The child, who was having challenges throughout the school year, is no longer enrolled in the school district, Suozzo said.
At the Timberlane Middle School, there were two incidents of substance abuse, according to the report. There were 22 substance abuse incidents at Hopewell Valley Central High School, of which eight were committed by the same four students, Suozzo said.
The number of confirmed cases of harassment intimidation and bullying increased slightly – from 10 cases in the 2015-16 school year to 12 cases in the 2016-17 school year. One of the 12 cases occurred at the Toll Gate Grammar School, and nine were reported at the Timberlane Middle School. There were two incidents at the high school.
Suozzo pointed to several initiatives designed to promote student safety, ranging from the district’s emphasis on cultural competency and character education, to the campus security officers – many of whom are retired police officers – who are assigned to the schools.
There are substance abuse counselors in the middle school and the high school, Suozzo said, as well as anti-bullying specialists in each of the school buildings.
When the harassment, intimidation and bullying law first came out several years ago, there was reluctance to report incidents because of the official natural of the process, Suozzo said.
“But I think the education we have done with our students (has made a difference),” he said. “We spend a lot of time talking about the role of the bystander in a bullying situation.”
“I think it has paid off. Our students do feel more comfortable now. If they see something happening and it shouldn’t be happening, they are going to report it,” Suozzo said.
