HILO — Offenses such as bullying and harassment were on the decline last year in Hawaii Island public schools, though the number of more serious misconduct cases — such as fighting and use of illicit drugs — increased slightly.
HILO — Offenses such as bullying and harassment were on the decline last year in Hawaii Island public schools, though the number of more serious misconduct cases — such as fighting and use of illicit drugs — increased slightly.
Big Island schools tallied at least 1,654 Class B violations in the 2016-17 school year, down from 1,755 the school year prior, according to data provided last week by the state Department of Education.
Class A violations, meanwhile, increased from at least 734 in the 2015-16 school year to 839 last year.
Class A violations include possession or use of a dangerous instrument or substance, possession or use of illicit drugs or drug paraphernalia, fighting, property damage or vandalism, sexual offenses and terroristic threatening.
Class B violations include cyberbullying, hazing, theft, disorderly conduct and inappropriate use of the internet.
Schools are required to track the student misconduct statistics each year and report them to the DOE.
The data provided isn’t necessarily all-inclusive because the DOE redacts totals under 10 to protect student privacy. Schools also have discretion to categorize and report offenses as they see fit, which can lead to inconsistency in reporting, some administrators said.
“Look at the numbers not so much as something that’s good or bad,” said Art Souza, superintendent of the Honokaa-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena Complex Area. “But rather, as something that creates a real sense of urgency that, whatever the numbers are, we need to get better at it. And we need to create better conditions for the kids. I’m not going to get so caught in the degrees but rather look at, ‘Are we doing enough?’”
Schools in the Ka‘u-Keaau-Pahoa Complex Area reported more than half of all Class A and Class B offenses islandwide last year. The complex area contained just under one-fourth of the island’s public school student population.
Schools in the Hilo-Waiakea Complex Area — which comprise 33 percent of students — accounted for about 21 percent of misconduct cases.
The Honokaa-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena Complex Area — which had about 43 percent of students — accounted for about 23 percent of violations.
Mountain View Elementary School tallied more Class B violations than any other school on the island during the past three years, though the school also showed a large drop in the number of instances last year. It lowered its Class A tally from 45 in the 2015-16 school year to 36 last year, and its Class B violations from 208 to 123 in that same time.
Mountain View Principal Wilma Roddy called the downward trend “encouraging.” She said she thinks improvements are partly a result of a “character-based education” the school uses which teaches students appropriate social skills and behaviors.
“And I also think a lot of it is working with our staff, teachers and families to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Roddy said. “It’s our job to continue to teach our kids the behaviors we expect of them. It’s not hardwired in every child. … And we try to be more proactive rather than reactive and punish. It’s a work in progress; we’re still going to work on that next year.”
Kealakehe Intermediate School was among a handful of schools that saw a spike in Class B violations, from 54 in the 2015-16 school year to 125 last year. Its Class A count also increased from 30 in the 2015-16 school year to 47 last year.
Kealakehe Principal Mark Hackelberg said he saw some issues last year with vaping and inappropriate use of technology.
Hackelberg said the school has implemented a new corrective process aimed at “correcting the behavior more so than punishing the action.” Kealakehe also hired a school resource officer in March, he said, which has seemed to mitigate some issues.
“It seems all of our kids have a smartphone,” Hackelberg said. “They’re on Instagram and Snapchat, and when they’re mean to someone or targeting someone on campus, it gets blasted out. That’s the kind of thing we’ve seen an increase in — technology not being used ethically.”
Inappropriate social media use also is often an issue at Waiakea Intermediate School, Principal Lisa Souza said, adding middle school is a “very typical time to see a rise in those behaviors.”
Souza said Waiakea is starting an all-girls group aimed at helping female students deal with self-esteem issues caused by negative effects from social media. The school also is continuing a positive behavior intervention support program that rewards good behavior.
Waiakea reported a decline in Class B violations, from 134 in the 2015-16 school year to 62 last year.
“We hope it continues,” Souza said of the downward trend. “… Our overall incident rates have drastically declined over the past four years, and I think our Class A and Class B offenses were the most resistant to our efforts to improve. And now they’re starting to improve as well.
“We look very closely at the numbers. Class A and B are pretty criminal (offenses) in nature, and we can’t let that go without consequences. So our only way is to be as proactive as possible.”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.