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District reports 91 reportable incidents for 2023–24; SSDS presenter highlights trends and training uptick
Summary
At the board meeting the SSDS presenter reported 91 reportable incidents for the 2023–24 school year, with 44 incidents in the second reporting period; the presenter noted changes by school and an increase in district trainings offered last year.
At the Cinnaminson Township Board of Education meeting, the district’s biannual Student Safety Data System (SSDS) report for reporting period 2 of the 2023–24 school year was presented to the board and public.
The presenter (introduced to the board as Mr. Capello) summarized reporting‑period totals and trends: 44 incidents in reporting period 2, yielding 91 reportable incidents for the 2023–24 school year when both reporting periods are combined. The presenter said high school incident totals declined from 20 to 12 when comparing reporting periods, while the middle school saw a slight increase from 21 to 25. The preschool (Memorial School) reported zero incidents for the period. The presenter described incident categories reported to the Department of Education — vandalism, substance incidents, weapons, harassment/intimidation/bullying (confirmed and alleged), and removals from the classroom (suspensions in or out of school).
On trainings and programs the presenter said the district reported 38 trainings district‑wide last year versus 23 in the prior year, and listed several programs tracked as part of the district’s HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) prevention reporting. The presenter emphasized that incidents are reported by building principals and said, "We don't do ourselves any good sweeping incidents under the rug. We have to own our data."
The board moved, seconded and approved acceptance of the SSDS report.
Why it matters The SSDS report is the district’s formal mechanism to report safety incidents to the New Jersey Department of Education and to track patterns that can inform prevention, interventions and staff training. Changes in incident totals and a rise in trainings are both signals the board and administration can use for resource and program planning.
Attributions and source The SSDS presentation was introduced by a board member and delivered by the presenter identified in the meeting as Mr. Capello. Direct quotes and numerical totals come from the presentation as recorded in the meeting transcript.
Next steps The presenter said he will return mid‑school year to present reporting period 1 results for the current year; principals and administration will continue to track incidents and trainings.
