District reports 37 investigated incidents, outlines counseling and restorative practices

Miss Engelfried, delivering the district's biannual culture‑and‑climate report, told the Morris School District Board that investigators reviewed 37 incidents reported from September through December and confirmed 19. "They were related to race, appearance, perceived orientation, gender, gender identity, perceived weakness, and some other miscellaneous," she said, describing locations that included classrooms, common areas, online spaces and lunch periods.

The presentation included the district's official anti‑bullying report‑card grades, which Engelfried said fall in the lower to upper 70s across assessed categories (she summarized submitted grades in the 71–78 range). She explained the report card measures eight categories that capture programs, personnel training, reporting procedures and investigations, and noted the official reports are posted on the district website.

Why it matters: the board said it wants a clearer sense of which interventions are most effective. Engelfried described a range of responses to incidents: counselor follow‑ups, parent conferences, restorative circles when participants agree, and targeted supports provided by social work interns and counseling staff. "We do a lot of restorative, circles and mediation if all of the students involved are interested in that," she said.

Engelfried highlighted several districtwide and school‑level programs intended to promote inclusion and mental health, including near‑peer mentoring, SEL newsletters produced by social‑work interns in English and Spanish, mindfulness practices in classrooms, a middle‑school designation as "No Place for Hate," and multiple affinity groups and Gay‑Straight Alliance chapters. The presentation emphasized training for staff and coaches (including an annual trainer named David Nash for athletic staff) and ongoing work by school climate committees.

Board members thanked Engelfried and requested a follow‑up that compares which programs produced measurable outcomes across schools. Engelfried said staff are compiling a districtwide summary and will return with more specific evidence about which practices the district plans to expand.