VERBAL
HARASSMENT AND BULLYING An alert for teens and parents of students of Roxbury High School, Roxbury Township, Succasunna New Jersey NJ |
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In an all-morning Orientation for incoming
students held on September 3, 2008, 9th grade students were introduced to
the administrative staff, given an overview of a normal day, warned to
arrive on time, warned against using drugs & alcohol and given a tour of
the school building. All seemed complete, except that administrators had just left the door open for one of the most common forms of failure among High School Students, Verbal Bullying. Before School started, we wrote to the Vice-Principal in charge of student discipline:
We found that in Middle School, the official position of the staff was that Verbal Bullying is not a concern, since "it's not a systemic problem". Privately, they would hint that it is. So, they were lying in public. On the second full day of High School, our student became the target of sustained verbal bullying. While we took direct action with the staff to address that incident, this page is intended to educate parents as well as the "educators" re the monstrous effect verbal bullying has on a student. Come to think of it, we'll keep it updated as well.
SEPT 29, 2008 UPDATE: Upon seeing a
situation in School mishandled by the staff, January 23, 2009 Observation: While we think it's great that the school has very strong programs in Sports & Music, for kids not involved with either the tendency is for staff to shunt them aside. If the truth dared be said aloud, our District worships at the altar of Sports & Music, and little real effort, LITTLE REAL EFFORT is made to promote and staff extra-curricular activities outside these areas. |
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Studies show that attempts to
bully reach their worst in the Middle School / Junior High School
years but can continue through High School.
The State of New Jersey School Bully Guideline has the potential to be used in a Legal sense against Districts who routinely fail to actually protect students, and just running an anti-bullying assembly once a year doesn't meet the standard. Those assemblies only impress the kids who wouldn't bully to begin with. We have found that it is standard
procedure for the School Administration & Teachers to deny that bullying of any
sort is a systemic problem at their school, no matter what the reality
is. That denial is part of what they understand their job entails. They
feel pressure from the District to protect against Legal Liability, and
the Teachers have the pressure of the local Union Rep, and in New
Jersey, the NJEA Teachers Union is so strong and feared that it is a paradigm unto
itself in organizational bullying. (We had 2 personal friends who are
members of NJEA state that clearly) When
specific instances of bullying are brought to their attention, they
address the culprit, but imagine the instance was isolated. The article
link below from the American Psychological Association carries the
headline: If your child is being bullied your first step is to contact the teacher, then the Principal. Keep a dated record of your contacts with them, you may need it later if you have to go to the Superintendent or School Board or Attorney. |
A report on the academic situation at Roxbury, below.
At left is a scan of a page from
the
Roxbury High School report page on the website of the New Jersey
Department of Education. Adequate Yearly Progress: NO School classified "in need of improvement": YES |
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This site serves the Morris County New Jersey communities of Succasunna, Kenvil, Ledgewood, Landing, Port Morris, Lower Berkshire Valley and Mount Arlington NJ |
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Updated January 5, 2013
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