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A mother is alleging that the Woodbridge Middle School mishandled a case of anti-Semitic bullying in which her 11-year-old son was called "Jew" while having pennies thrown at him during gym class Dec. 15.

Cathy Salamon-Geardino, the boy's mother, said that while the gym teacher reported the incident and the boy was issued an in-school suspension the next day, the school did not notify her about what had transpired. She first learned about the incident when her son told her.

"It's a small thing, but as kids grow older, these things get uglier," she said.

After hearing of the incident, Salamon-Geardino contacted the school's principal, James Sullivan, and said she was rebuffed by him.

"He couldn't be bothered with me," she recalled.

Sullivan declined to comment, citing school policy not to comment to the press.

Salamon-Geardino then learned that a school librarian had the two boys apologize to one another after asking her son what he did to provoke this act, which she said made her even more furious.

"There is no excuse for what the other kid did," she said.

After Salamon-Geardino approached Angele Korodan, assistant superintendent for personnel services with her complain, the school had the boy write a letter of apology. The letter, obtained by The Jewish State, reads: "I am sorry for calling you a Jew. I feel bad for calling you that. I know that it was... wrong. I won't use that language again."

"The letter made me even angrier," Salamon-Geardino said. "It didn't address why what he did was wrong and I thought, Did anyone from the school even read it?"

Salamon-Geardino holds that she is not upset with the boy, but rather with the school's handling of this issue.

Dr. John A. Crowe, superintendent of schools, declined to comment on this specific case as it deals with both students and school personnel.

"We have both a policy and regulations on the issue of harassment and bullying and basically there is a process that should be followed," Crowe said, explaining that a parent must file a complaint, which is then investigated.

While the district's state-mandated "harassment, intimidation, and bullying" policy clearly forbids such behavior, subsequent disciplinary action is up to the discretion of the school's administration.

The policy reads: "At each school, the principal or the principal's designee is responsible for receiving complaints alleging violations of this policy. The principal and/or the principal's designee is responsible for determining whether an alleged act constitutes a violation of this policy. In so doing, the principal and/or the principal's designee shall conduct a prompt, thorough and complete investigation of the alleged incident."

Etzion Neuer, regional director of the New Jersey region of the Anti-Defamation League, spoke with Salamon-Geardino after the incident occurred.

"This complaint intersects with bullying and anti-Semitism and this issue of bias in the school," Neuer said.

"Her allegations are disturbing, though it's not as unique as one may think," he said, mentioning that over the past two years he has received numerous complaints of pennies being thrown at Jewish students in schools.

"It's hard to say where it comes from," Neuer said of what prompts this sort of behavior. "It's a manifestation of bullying and harassment. And for some kids, it's them acting out on behalf of stereotypes they hear at home."

Neuer said that schools should always notify parents when such an act occurs and reaffirm to the parents that they are addressing the issue.

"We often see the problem compounded when the school doesn't address the situation properly," he said.

In terms of disciplinary action, Neuer said the appropriate action must be determined on a case-by-case basis, balancing punitive measures with educational ones.

"It's best when a school tries some type of holistic approach," he said.

Coincidentally, this specific incident occurred the same day the New Jersey Commission on Bullying in Schools, of which the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a member, released a 60-page report detailing anti-bullying policy recommendations for all New Jersey schools.

"Bullying in schools is a serious issue in 2010, but it's hardly a new issue and anyone who has ever gone to school knows this," Neuer said. "Nobody reasonable expects this to go away."

Neuer said even though such a problem will not disappear, such discussions about the issue of bullying, which were uncommon only 10 years ago, are "inherently good."

"Schools and parents realized that it is no longer tolerable, that it's not just part of growing up," Neuer said. "School safety is not just about preventing violence, or locks on doors -- it's also about peace of mind."