Brick Schools Get High Marks in Anti-Bullying, But Had 231 Major Disciplinary Incidents Last Year

A row of lockers at Brick Township High School. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Brick Township’s school district received near-perfect scores for its anti-bullying programs and adherence to state policies on handling instances of “harassment, intimidating and bullying,” known as HIBs, during the 2022-23 school year. Overall, the district saw 25 confirmed HIB incidents.

Harassment, intimidation and bullying is separate from conflict between students – including fights and altercations – said Earl Mosely, the Brick district’s anti-bullying coordinator.

“There is a clear differentiation between the two,” said Mosely, addressing the Board of Education last week. “Disagreements, arguments and fights are a normal part of growing up. Once again, we go back to the definition of bullying, and intent is critical – is there intent to physically or emotionally hurt someone?”

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Bullying incidents considered HIBs must be driven by at least one of several unique factors, specifically incidents that are “reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory disability, or by any other distinguishing characteristic,” according to state statute.

School districts in New Jersey are not necessarily judged based on the number of HIBs that take place during a school year, but rather by the programs, training and policies put in place to prevent such incidents in the first place. By that metric, Brick Township schools received high marks in a state report for its anti-bullying infrastructure.

The state’s methodology creates a 78-point scale on which schools are judged, with Brick schools receiving scores ranging from a perfect 78 to – at minimum – 71. Mosely said the district implements all state-mandated programs, such as the recent “Week of Respect,” to training for teaching and support staff.

“It is mandated that we all do ‘Week of Respect.’ That is an example of a program,” Mosely said. “But it involves everyone – I talked to all of the bus drivers in the district yesterday on this same subject.”

Out of a maximum score of 78, the district’s two high schools received scores of 74 (BMHS) and 77 (BTHS), a 95 percentile and 99 percentile mark, respectively. The district’s two middle schools received scores of 77 (Lake Riviera MS) and 74 (Veterans Memorial MS), 99 percent and 95 percent. These scores for all four schools remained the same as during the previous school year.

At the elmentary level, schools received scores of 76 (Drum Point), 71 (Emma Havens Young) and 75 (Lanes Mill). Preschool programs at Herbertsvile and Warren H. Wolf schools received perfect scores of 78. Emma Havens Young was the only school having changed its score from the previous year, rising one point.

The state report also shed light on total incidents involving violence, vandalism, substance abuse and HIBs, with the following data reported. Shorebeat is planning a larger report on a per-school basis, as well as a comparison with similar districts in Ocean County.

State Report Results for 2022-23

Total Violence:

HIB Incidents in 2022-23:

Police Notifications

Student Disciplinary Removals: