Minooka High School’s bullying data shows mixed results

In year-over-year comparisons, bullying-related data within Minooka Community High School showed mixed results, according to a recently released report from District 111 officials.

MCHS 111 Superintendent Robert Schiffbauer gave a high-level overview of the district’s annual bullying report at a recent board of education meeting. At times, he provided comparative data from the prior school year.

A total of 21 documented cases of fighting and aggressive behavior within the two campuses were reported in the 2024-25 school year, according to the district report, up from the 16 instances reported in the 2023-24 school year.

“I believe only one of those altercations was at Central Campus, so some of it is a maturity thing and working with our younger students,” Schiffbauer said.

On the flip side, however, MCHS 111 had on file 20 “no contact” agreements — a preventative measure to keep students at odds with one another apart, whenever possible, throughout the instructional day. In the 2023-24 school year, MCHS 111 had 34 “no contact” agreements in place.

In his presentation to the board, which took place at a meeting June 18, Schiffbauer said the “no contact” agreements have been a fruitful instrument within the district to help mitigate against disruptive behavior.

“They tend to be a pretty good deterrent,” he said.

The district’s annual report also indicated three reports of bullying were sent in via an established anonymous tip line. Additionally, three reports were sent into the dean’s office, though one lacked enough information to investigate.

In addition to the “no contact” agreements between students, MCHS 111 officials typically involve parents and teachers to help address issues between students, as well as peer mediation.

During the brief discussion on the issue, Schiffbauer indicated bullying today is expressed through a number of different channels, including social media.

Special education cooperative agreement scrutinized

In other business, June 18, the Minooka Community High School 111 board of education discussed special education staffing plans in the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

MCHS 111 is a part of the Morris-based Grundy County Special Education Cooperative, which pools resources to provide staffing to a number of area schools.

The cooperative has been grappling with staffing shortages in several areas, Schiffbauer said. MCHS could be directly impacted with the shortage, in terms of speech pathologist staffing; four full-time equivalency positions within that job description were unfilled, as of mid-June.

“The plan, as of today, is to utilize tele-speech pathologist services,” Schiffbauer said. “I think many of us saw how COVID went with teaching, and I think speech pathology, virtually, is probably not the best thing for kids.”

Schiffbauer hinted at possibly having a deeper, broader discussion with the board on special education staffing in the years ahead.

“Maybe we take that service back, and we handle it to make sure that our kids have the best service we can provide them,” Schiffbauer said.

In explaining his position, he reiterated MCHS’ commitment to providing specialized services to families, which he asserted has made the district a draw within the region.

“I don’t want to let them down,” he added.