Although Bullying Down in Brick Schools, More Work to Do

Despite the fact that the number of incidents in Brick schools that were considered harassment and bullying was half the number it was last year, more work can be done to reduce that number even further, according to a presentation at the Board of Education meeting.

Earl Mosley, the district's anti-bullying coordinator said last night that the 2012-2013 school year saw 62 incidents compared with 124 last year, but that when the district performed an assessment of the anti-bullying program, the noted some areas that could be improved.

Although the highest score the curriculum could have gotten was 75, one school, Primary Learning Center, received a 50, and other schools scored in the 50-65 range.

"It's a very thorough assessment," Mosley said. "And it elicited a lot of questions as we came through, specifically, how is the program being implemented, and are they fulfilling the law and are we following through the way we should. We have to look at that and that is something we are looking at for next year."

It was reported on Patch earlier this year that the district is working toward a new initiative that will produce "formative assessments" of bullies with the aim of changing behavior rather than simply disciplining the offender.