Jenna Russo, Leonia’s director of special services and the district harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) coordinator, presented the district’s annual HIB self-assessment to the Leonia Board of Education on Oct. 14.

Russo said each school completed the New Jersey Department of Education’s school self-assessment tool required by the Anti‑Bullying Bill of Rights Act. The district’s three buildings scored near one another: Angela Child School (ACS) 71 out of 78 points (91%), Leonia Middle School (LMS) 71 (91%), and Leonia High School (LHS) 72 (92%), giving a district average of 91.33% on the scoring rubric Russo described. She said the minimum score to be considered “meeting all standards” under the rubric is 52 points (67%).

Russo described the core-element breakdown used in the tool and reported scores by area, including training on the board-approved policy (ACS 9/9, LMS 8/9, LHS 8/9), HIB investigation procedure (12/12 for all three buildings) and incident reporting procedures (ACS 5/6, LMS 5/6, LHS 6/6). She said the district had improved in a two‑year trend analysis: ACS rose from 81% to 91%; LMS from 71% to 91%; and LHS from 88% to 92%.

The presentation listed follow-up actions and supports the district will pursue: continued building‑based social‑emotional learning programming (student wellness fairs, grade‑level transition meetings and assemblies), clearer communication to families including updated HIB FAQs on the district website, additional training and calibration for anti‑bullying specialists and school safety teams, and a clinical partnership with Effective School Solutions (ESS) to provide mental‑health interventions at LMS and LHS.

Russo and Superintendent Zanti Karamanos both emphasized that the HIB submission is a self‑assessment that the district used to identify areas for improvement. Karamanos described work to calibrate teams across buildings and to be transparent with families. Russo noted the district must post each school’s and the district’s HIB grade on the respective school and district homepages within 10 days of NJDOE notification that the grades are available.

Board members asked what drove the year‑over‑year increases. Russo credited expanded coordination by the district HIB coordinator, clearer communication with families about differences between conflicts and bullying, and greater calibration among building teams; Karamanos highlighted listening to families during strategic-planning work and systematic calibration in administrative review. Russo and Karamanos said training and clearer procedures remain action items.

Russo warned that because the HIB grade is a self‑assessment it must be read alongside other safety and discipline systems; she said the NJDOE later certifies and posts grades and that the district’s statewide reporting systems (including SSDS disciplinary reporting) are reviewed as part of the larger oversight and reporting process.