National Bullying Prevention Month Comes To Stafford, SR Schools

MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Schools in New Jersey have some of the toughest anti-bullying regulations in the country, under the Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights. Schools are required to report all instances of harassment, intimidation and bullying (known as HIB incidents), and provide detailed information about their bullying statistics.

The Stafford and Southern Regional school districts have been participating in initiatives this month, including the The Week of Respect from Oct. 7-11, "an annual week of awareness, education and action around harassment, intimidation and bullying in New Jersey public schools." During this week, schools across the state will provide anti-bullying education to students, as required by the state Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights.

Patch will produce a similar report on the Barnegat Township School District.

The Numbers

For the 2015-2016 school year, which was the most recently available data, the Southern Regional School District reported seven cases of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB).

Four instances were based on gender, while two were based on race. Five incidents involved a verbal altercation, and two got physical.

In six cases, the offending student received in-school suspension. One student got detention. Seven student conferences and eight parent conferences were initiated.

District action for the victims included four parent conferences, one seating change, one schedule change and four miscellaneous measures that weren't available in the HIB report.

HIB grades are self-reported. Overall, the district gave itself a good score of 69 out of 78 points in the 2017-18 school year. The high school earned a 69, while the middle school received a 68.

The Stafford Township School District reported one HIB incident that same school year. The altercation was physical. The offender received individual and group counseling. The victim was given a seating change, counseling and a teacher aid or monitor during the school day.

The Stafford district gave itself a 76 out of 78 points on its HIB assessment. All schools ranged between 74 and 78 points, with McKinley Avenue Elementary School earning a perfect score.

Initiatives

Both districts are participating in several anti-bullying initiatives.

Here's what the Stafford Township School District has done this month:

Oct. 7: “Be an Upstander Day” – students will wear blue to support the Blue Shirt Day World Day of Bullying Prevention initiative. Remember to be an “upstander” and not a “bystander”.

Oct. 9: “Bright Future Day” - students will wear neon colors to signify their bright future by making good decisions and helping each other succeed.

Oct. 11: “Be a TEAM Player Day” – students will show their belief in teamwork as they wear their favorite sports team jerseys to school.

The students at Stafford Township School District will also recognize School Violence Awareness Week from Oct. 21-25.

Oct. 21: "Respect Our Differences Day." Students will wear mix-match outfits to show that we all are unique and different and we should celebrate being unique.

Oct. 23: "Pretty in Pink/Handsome in Blue Day." This Ocean County initiative recognizes and remembers both men and women who have had or are living with any type of cancer. Students will wear blue and/or pink to join in this initiative.

Oct. 25: "School Pride Day." Wear blue and yellow and show your Stafford Pride.

Here's what's going on at Southern Regional:

At the high school, individual health classes in Grades 9, 11 and 12 focus on bullying and respect. The 10th grade health class pertains to driver's ed.

Students involved with the Southern News Network have also produced several videos about bullying.

"I think our students got the message about bullying — what's right and what's wrong," said SRHS Assistant Principal Susan M. Craig, the school's HIB specialist. "And now we want to reach out to that next level, the bystander, to look around and see how these people are being treated. It doesn't mean you have to interfere or butt in, but show kindness to that person."

Craig also said she hesitates to use the world "bullying" in some cases, since that involves a strict legal definition. Other situations aren't as clear-cut but make students feel bad about themselves, she says.

"You want your child to feel secure and safe and comfortable," she tells parents. "We can get your there whether or not it meets the letter of the law. We just want every kid to feel welcome."

Bullying Around the Nation

The problem isn't isolated to just New Jersey. National statistics vary, but an aggregate of 80 different studies on bullying suggests one in five American students between 12 and 18 is bullied at some point during their middle or high school years. Traditional bullying — name calling, public humiliation, isolation, physical violence and that sort of thing — occurs most often, with 35 percent of kids reporting they've been targeted in one of those ways. The studies cited by the PACER Center, which established National Bullying Prevention Month, show that 15 percent of kids surveyed report being cyberbullied.

Among the marquee National Bullying Prevention Month activities is Unity Day, observed on Wednesday, Oct. 24, when everyone is encouraged to wear and show orange to send a message that no child should ever experience bullying.

"Orange provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity," Paula Goldberg, the executive director of the PACER Center, said in a statement. "Whether it's hundreds of individuals at a school wearing orange, store owners offering orange products or a community changing a landmark to orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the supportive, universal message that bullying is never acceptable behavior."

Here's more about Unity Day:

Laws In New Jersey

Although New Jersey's Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights is one of the strictest anti-bullying laws in the nation, we could soon see the laws become even more stringent.

"Mallory's Law,"which aims to strengthen the current laws by forcing parental involvement, was recently approved unanimously by the State Senate.

Under the new bill, parents could face civil liabilities if they show "blatant disregard of supervising their child, [or] if their child has been judged to be delinquent of harassment or cyber harassment," a press release says, and parents would be subject to anti-bullying education classes.

The reporting and notification process for bullying incidents would be expanded: any accounts of bullying would be sent to the executive county superintendent and the parents of any students involved.

Any student found guilty of bullying would have the incident placed on their permanent record. After three proven bullying incidents, a student and their parents would be required to attend an anti-bullying training session, and law enforcement would be notified to see if any crimes were committed.

THE MENACE OF BULLIES: PATCH ADVOCACY REPORTING PROJECT

As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying.

Do you have a story to tell? Email us at bullies@patch.com, or share your views in the comment.

With reporting by Deb Belt and Katie Kausch, Patch Staff

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