Holmdel administrators told the board they have completed data collection for the School Data and School Safety report (SDSS) for the 2024–25 year and are preparing to certify the report before the Aug. 11 deadline. The administration also reported declines in recorded HIB incidents and VVR entries in multiple schools and outlined plans to expand culture-building and restorative-practice programs.

An administrator said the district had “dramatic difference” at the middle school, citing a drop in substantiated HIBs at one school from 10 in the previous year to 3 this year. The district attributed the decline to changes in leadership and a more proactive approach by staff at those schools.

The administration described ongoing efforts to address student behavior through additional training and programming. The board discussed engaging an outside trainer — identified as Joshua from an organization called GOMO — to provide staff, student and parent training on culture building and respectful interactions. The district plans to roll out Character Strong curriculum K–8 this year and to add it at the high school next year.

Board members raised questions about consequences and tiered responses for serious incidents. One board member said the district should consider “different tiers and then maybe different instances that would require a consequence so that we create a community where the students realize, wow, like, I can get in significant trouble for this.” Administrators described restorative approaches used at Indian Hill that allow students to make amends rather than only receive punitive discipline, and noted the district is trying to make responses consistent across buildings.

Administrators said a three-year timeline of HIB incidents and related measures is available and could be compiled into charts for public distribution to show trends. The district also said it has nearly completed staffing for special services and that the IDEA grant application is ready for submission.

The SDSS certification work and the planned training programs were presented as administrative actions; the board did not vote on new policy at this meeting.