Franklin Lakes Schools Report Zero Incidents of Violence, Bullying

Over the past few years, the Franklin Lakes School District has implemented several anti-bullying initiatives that school officials say are working.

According to a mandatory violence, vandalism, and bullying report Superintendent Frank Romano delivered at a recent Board of Education meeting, Franklin Lakes schools experienced zero incidents of all three during the second half of the 2012-13 school year.

The district is required by the state to report the number of incidents twice each year – from September 1 to January 1 (Reporting Period 1) and from January 1 to June 30 (Reporting Period 2). Between the two halves of the school year, the district experienced a drop in all three categories, Romano's report said.

• Violence decreased from two incidents in Period 1 to 0 in Period 2
• Vandalism decreased from one incident in Period 1 to 0 in Period 2
• HIB (Harassment Intimidation and Bullying) decreased from two incidents in Period 1 to 0 in Period 2

Romano noted some of the anti-bullying initiatives the district has implemented, including the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program at FAMS during the past two years, Character Education Block in Elementary Schools last year, and Safeschools.com in all schools this year.

“The results are quite amazing,” Romano said in an email to Patch last week.

They also represent a steeper decline in the number of incidents from the 2011-12 school year, in which the district experienced 21 incidents of violence, zero incidents of vandalism, and nine incidents of HIB.

In a podcast of Romano’s delivery of the report to the Board, he said, “I think you can appreciate the downward trend as we implement some quality programs...It's all good news, and it shows a dramatic reduction. You want to talk about quantifiable success, here's a good one."