Fights Most Frequent Behavioral Problem in Wyckoff Schools

Incidents of violence and vandalism stayed fairly stable in the Wyckoff schools last year as compared to 2008-09, with just a slight uptick recorded.

The data on all examples of violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse for the 2009-10 school year was presented Monday by interim Superintendent Richard Kuder in keeping with state mandates. All public school districts must hold annual public hearings on the topic after compiling and providing the data to the state Department of Education.

The vast majority of the 29 district-wide incidents occurred at Eisenhower Middle School, which saw 22 reportable cases of either violence or vandalism. Data supplied by the district shows 20 cases of violence last year with one incident of vandalism and a theft, which falls under the state's "vandalism" category.

"The nature of the types of items represented by Wyckoff is minimal" as compared to many districts, Kuder said.

The vast majority of the incidents of violence at the middle school were owed to fights between students, although there was one incident of harassment and intimidation. In all, the school doled out 16 in-school suspensions and two out-of-school suspensions in connection with the incidents.

In comparison, of the 23 incidents recorded district-wide in 2008-09, 11 were concentrated at Eisenhower. All were cases of violence and/or intimidation.

For the second straight year, Washington Elementary School did not have a single reportable incident, and Coolidge Elementary School also had none after a single incident of vandalism in 2008-09.

Lincoln Elementary School saw a decline in problems, with seven situations in 2008-09 and just three in 2009-10. All three were cases of harassment and bullying, each earning out-of-school suspensions.

Sicomac Elementary School recorded four incidents in both 2008-09 and 2009-10. Last year, there were two cases of vandalism, a theft and a case of bullying that earned a student an out-of-school suspension.

Data was not yet available to compare Wyckoff to similar districts. Beth Auerswald, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, said statewide data should be made public in the next month.

The district will mark School Violence Awareness Week in accordance with state regulations, starting Monday, Oct. 18. A variety of activities and lessons will be incorporated into students' lessons, many of which are featured year-round.

Some of the activities include DARE lessons, assemblies on conflict resolution, lunch with Wyckoff police officers, mediation programs, cyber-bullying resources on the district's website, daily "Words of Wisdom" readings and educational resources available to parents, among many other initiatives.