High Point sees increase in harassment, bullying incidents
WANTAGE. The 2021-22 school year had a high of 12 complaints; the previous high was seven.
Wantage /
| 25 Aug 2022 | 04:07
A girl consoling her crying friend.
High Point Regional High School officials investigated 39 possible Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying (HIB) incidents during the 2021-22 school year, 12 of which were confirmed to be HIB violations.
The school’s 12 HIB violations was the most for a single school year in data presented at the August 23 Board of Education meeting. The previous high was seven in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years.
The 39 investigations were the highest since the 2012-13 school year, when 37 were reported.
The district is required to report its HIB data twice per year.
Director of Curriculum Seamus Campbell said some of the increase comes from students being out of school for nearly two years due to remote learning.
He also said there were several “flare ups” between groups of students that were already experiencing “tension.”
“When you investigate three or four conflicts, you end up sometimes investigating some of them as is,” Campbell said. “I feel strongly, and so does our administration, that our student culture is strong and that we’re proactive. Really the essence behind the HIB mandate is that we never look the other way and don’t take action.”
