Princeton's Violence and Vandalism Stats Remain Steady in Latest Report

The Princeton School District reported 71 total incidents as part of the Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in the Schools Report for 2013-2014, released by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) this week.

The report is produced each year to share self-reported incidents from districts that include violence, vandalism, weapons offenses, substance offenses, and harassment, intimidation and bullying.

This year’s reporting period was from July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014.

Princeton’s highest numbers came in the categories of Harassment Intimidation, Bullying (HIB), where it had 34 incidents, and violence, in which 23 incidents were reported.

The district reported 10 incidents of substance abuse, four incidents involving weapons and three incidents of vandalism.

The numbers were on par with last year’s report, when there were 72 total incidents and 35 HIB incidents, three incidents involving weapons and five reports of vandalism.

Violence increased, as there were 13 incidents reported last year.

Substance abuse was down, as there were 16 incidents reported last year

There are 3,407 students in the district.

It is the second year NJDOE has released anti-bullying grade reports. Bullying has been a separate reporting category for the past three years. A third of all reported incidents were categorized as harassment, intimidation and bullying, although the total counts are down 16 percent statewide compared to 2012-2013.

The state’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act requires the Commissioner of Education to grade the efforts of each public school and school district to address bullying in the school environment. The Commissioner has released these anti-bullying grades to schools and districts, which are posted on each school and district website.

Each school’s anti-bullying grade, from 0 to 78, was calculated from information provided through a 40-page self-assessment that measured how well each school achieved specific indicators for meeting state regulations and protocols.

The district earned an overall grade of 62, according to numbers last updated in March.

The highest individual grade at that time belonged to the Riverside School, which scored a 71

Community Park School had a 63, the Littlebrook School had a 61, and the Princeton High School and Johnson Park School each had a 60. John Witherspoon Middle School scored a 59.

For the district’s full results, click here.

The 2014 New Jersey School Climate Survey is also available for the second year.

The survey is a tool for local school districts to get feedback on what the school community thinks about their school in areas such as community engagement, morale and the academic climate.

Some of the questions also touch upon the emotional environment and physical safety, as well as relationships and communications between the school and its stakeholders.

NJDOE doesn’t administer the survey, and school districts are not required to participate.

For more on the School Climate Survey, visit the NJDOE’s School Climate Survey webpage.