Violence,Vandalism in Central Regional School District Minimal During 2010-2011 School Year

The Central Regional school district had a "relatively quiet year" for violence and vandalism, Central Regional School schools Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said recently.

Parlapanides released the results of the district's annual violence and vandalism report for the 2010-2011 school year at the Sept. 15 Board of Education meeting

The report - presented via PowerPoint - lists eight violence incidents, three vandalism incidents and seven substance abuse incidents, for a total of 18 reported incidents last year. There were no weapons incidents on school grounds last year.

“We have six great classes in the middle school and high school," Parlapanides said after the presentation.

The state Department of Education requires public school districts to compile an annual report detailing violence and vandalism in their schools. Districts are required to report incidents if they occur on school grounds during school hours, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored event, according to the DOE's website.

“We try to be as transparent as possible,” Parlapanides said.

 A more detailed breakdown of the report shows the following information:

The eight incidents of violence are all listed as simple assaults and fights between students. It also states there were no incidents of harassment or bullying.

The three vandalism incidents are all listed as property damage, a broad category that Parlapanides said could include damage to lockers or a broken window.

In the substance abuse category, the report shows that all seven incidents were confirmed with a drug test. It also shows that in four cases illegal substances were found on the student’s person in school and one of the cases included intent to distribute.

Finally the report that in four of the incidents police were notified with charges filed in three of those four incidents.

Parlapanides praised the school district staff for their work in keeping negative occurrences down. Teachers are at the doors every morning when students arrive at school, he said.

“The reason we have so few incidents, you have to give credit to teachers and counselors,” said Parlapanides.

He also praised the district’s bus drivers, whom he said “set the tone” for the school day as they are transported to school.

“Children behave on the bus," Parlapanides said. "That sets the tone when they walk through the doors.”

The district holds assemblies throughout the year to educate students on violence and substance abuse prevention, he said.

“The kids understand our expectations,” said Parlapanides. “I think that has a lot to do with the good numbers we have here.”

Beginning in the 1999-2000 school year, school districts and charter schools were required to report incidents of violence, vandalism and substance abuse via the Internet using the state DOE’s Electronic Violence and Vandalism Reporting System (EVVRS). Each year, districts are required to publicly report their EVVRS data and are encouraged to use it as a tool to assess the effectiveness of their policies, programs and practices, and to identify other school-level needs, according to the DOE's website.