Are we pushing kids into the school-to-prison pipeline with suspensions?
Many schools maintain a push and pull approach to attendance. One one hand, school administrators make extensive efforts to push parents to get their children to class.
Yet, schools adhere to suspension policies that pull students out of their seats for minor infractions. In 2010, U.S. schools suspended more than 3 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade. And many of those students were minorities and children with disabilities, according to a new analysis of data from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
The review by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, found one in six African-American students was suspended from school, more than three times the rate of their white counterparts. Those findings are creating significant concern as school suspensions are linked to retention, lower graduation rates and funneling kids into what is known as the “school-to-prison pipeline.”
The analysis also found that more than 13 percent of students with disabilities were suspended, twice the rate of their non-disabled classmates. It also showed that one out of every four black children with disabilities was suspended at least once in 2009-2010.
The typical response is that black students misbehave more but the research refutes that contention. Instead, studies show that black students are punished more severely when they misbehave and for infractions that are often judgment calls — talking back or showing disrespect.
Students are increasingly suspended for nonviolent infractions such as truancy, dress code violations, inappropriate language, insubordination and disruptions.
“A driver in the increase in suspensions and expulsions has been the rise of zero-tolerance polices in the late 1980s and early ’90s,” said Russell Skiba of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University on a conference call on the UCLA findings.
The UCLA analysis found disparate suspension rates across schools and among schools with similar demographics. “A number of districts in the same state don’t have high rates of the use of suspension and expulsion,” said Skiba. “The use of suspension and expulsion is, in fact, a choice.”
And it’s a bad one, said Tina Dove of the National Opportunity to Learn Campaign, an advocacy group supporting a moratorium on out-of-school school suspensions. Launched in late August, the “Solutions Not Suspension” campaign urges schools to adopt in-school disciplinary alternatives, especially for lesser infractions.
“As a former teacher, I know firsthand the negative impact of kids being out of school, out of their chairs on suspension,” Dove said in a telephone interview. “Every day, we are seeing more and more situations where children are sent out of school for random and capricious offenses. It is too severe — it is like imposing a life sentence for behaviors that are all too often a part of growing up.”
Dove understands her colleagues still in the classroom may disagree and tell her that the price of reduced suspensions is a higher tolerance of bad behaviors. And that leads to classes held hostage to troublemakers.
“This is by no means a call to ignore the elephant in the room,” said Dove. “There is no doubt that a disruptive child in the class makes the job of the teacher more difficult and makes it more difficult for the students trying to learn. But going to the opposite extreme — let’s just throw them out of the class — is also not good.”
UCLA study lead author Daniel J. Losen said some districts agree and are reducing suspension rates, citing the 84,000-student Baltimore City Schools, which, under CEO Andres Alonso, went from 26,000 suspensions in 2003-2004 to 10,000 six years later.
“We are turning the corner, but we haven’t fully turned it yet,” Losen said.
As a teacher, Dove said she came to realize that problem students often had problems. Perhaps, they couldn’t hear or see well enough to follow in class. They might be hungry. Mood swings in her high schools students often reflected personal or family struggles.
“Suspending them doesn’t solve any of these problems,” Dove said. “Let’s slow down. Let’s stop throwing them out. Let’s come together, teachers, administrators, parents, students and community, and devise a plan that works. We have already seen places that have done this. This is not poppycock. Working together, instead of working in isolation, creates alternatives so we can keep kids where we need them to be — in the classroom and learning.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
197 comments Add your comment
Texas Pete
September 13th, 2012
11:47 am
This system is for the best. No one wants to be a ditch digger, line cook, or janitor, so by giving certain kids a record (and lets face it, they weren’t going to cure cancer anyway) we can ensure the supply of unskilled labor that we will need for generations to come.
Tired
September 13th, 2012
11:57 am
I haven’t read all the comments; is this piece in response to the stories out of Bibb County and their significant discipline issues?
Observer
September 13th, 2012
12:20 pm
@ xxx, 8:16 am. No, the question that Sandy Springs Parent asked her daughter about her classmate wasn’t the same as the question asked by “the Civil Rights fraud for suspensions.” That mother was not a surveyer asking for statistical information. She goes on after her daughter asked if she was a “raciest” [sic]: “I asked if this girl was White, Black or Hispanic. She said she wasn’t going to answer since I was being raciest. So that told me the girl was not white.”
Why? Sounds like the daughter is used to her mother asking about race to put down Hispanics and blacks. Sounds like the mother makes assumptions about the superiority of whites, that her daughter is definitely onto in a disapproving way. Sounds like you (”Civil Rights fraud”) are on the mother’s wave-length.
Tangled
September 13th, 2012
1:28 pm
Please support our teachers. Parents; control and teach your children values and how to respect others. APS, whatever.
bootney farnsworth
September 13th, 2012
2:31 pm
Maureen on vacation?
TheGoldenRam
September 13th, 2012
3:46 pm
The whole premise of the “school-to-prison pipeline” is flawed, but many in our society love these dumb catch-phrases and anecdotes. Do the folks that subscribe to this junk theory actually think that most sensible people believe that the “pipeline” begins in school? It’s a “home/community-to-prison” pipeline and schools are just another venue through which that path travels. There is no way to avoid it with public school attendance being mandatory. We just can’t bring ourselves to have honest and constructive conversations about culture, personal responsibility and expectations. It’s too messy and politically inconvenient. So we end up with academic Kabuki theater writ large. Same stories, different decade. I’ve Googled news stories and research papers about “the achievement gap” and the sad truth is that you can find much written under late 1980’s datelines that sounds like it was written just yesterday. I guess one of the silver linings of this madness is that there will never be any shortage of material for journalists and bloggers who make educational dysfunction part of their domain.
It’s not going to change. The gaps are not going to narrow(unless you count some attrition at the top end as those scores erode with the dumbing-down of much of our system). We are creating a very static and permanent underclass because we’ve given up on holding people in those communities accountable for dysfunctional and destructive behavior and at the same time we’ve continued to lower our expectations of them.
What is going to change is that more & more of society is going to abandon the public education system as we have known it. They will flee to private schools, charter schools and the next big push in the voucher school movement will break the levee. If they can’t find acceptable educational alternatives in their communities, history demonstrates quite clearly that they will elect to move. That was originally “white flight”, but now it is distinctly “green flight”, as many middle-class black families flee “urban” school districts that are coming apart at the seams. The Dekalb School Districts of the world(and their intertwined communities) will follow the now predictable path of systems like Detroit, Memphis, Philly, D.C., St. Louis, Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Jacksonville, etc, etc, etc.. Public systems that exist as shadows of their former greatness, undone by the decades of the aforementioned decline in accountability & expectations. These are places where excuses rain down like a monsoon, drowning countless innocents that are trapped in the cycle of failure with the very people that perpetrate this injustice upon them.
As for the “studies” about race, behavior and discipline; for me that’s going in the same category as graduation rates, college readiness and many other educational measurements. That would be the “I don’t trust the data, because I don’t trust the competency and/or intentions of those collecting/analyzing it” category.
See Bibb County for a case study: http://www.macon.com/2012/09/06/2165875/report-blasts-bibb-county-school.html
How depressing to think of the many good kids trapped in that chaos. How many of those kids fall into the “pipeline” because they are failed by adults in public education who have no business being there? So whereas the “pipeline” certainly doesn’t originate in the schools, some systems seem to do a pretty good job of expanding it with the addition of kids failed by the very institution they should be able to trust most in protecting them from it.
Ole Guy
September 13th, 2012
4:05 pm
The year was 1964; in a show of solidarity…or youthful indiscretion…we all doned Mohawks, for which we were all unceremonously paddled and suspended for a week…fortunately, we were allowed to play that friday’s big game; in the ensuing post-suspension weeks, we had to wear skull caps until we were able to display a “more-civilized” appearance. Was this my first suspension? NO WAY! Yet somehow, I, and many of my classmates, pushed through, sustained the “dissing” of our elders, and not only survived, but became stronger for the experiences. HOWBOUT YOU FOLKS STOP HANDLING THESE KIDS AS THOUGH THEY’RE FRAGILE PACKETS OF BREAKABLES. It’s all about MEANINGFUL consequences. Get with it, you stupid people. If the kid warrants suspension, DO IT.,
Lee
September 13th, 2012
7:58 pm
I agree with others who noted there is no “school to prison pipeline”. Pipeline is a conduit and implies that once a student enters the disciplinary process, they are funneled along until they wind up in prison.
While there are the occasional exceptions, such as the Eagle Scout who gets suspended for having a camp axe in his pickup, most students are suspended because they earned it – through their own bad behavior and stupidity. Some continue making these bad decisions until they find themselves standing in front of a judge.
At any time, they can break the out of this pattern by simply ceasing to do the things that get them in trouble.
It’s really that simple….
CamBrady2016
September 13th, 2012
8:36 pm
Why do we continue to listen to the West Coast?
mgdawg
September 13th, 2012
9:40 pm
“Students are increasingly suspended for nonviolent infractions such as truancy, dress code violations, inappropriate language, insubordination and disruptions”
To some these may seem minor, and I seriously doubt that it is one of these actions that cause a kid to be suspended. In my experience it is the continual behavior is what gets them in trouble. Also, while these may seem minor, that means they should be easily fixed. The problem is neither the kid nor parent care to change, and when in the long run it hurts them we get to hear studies like this crucifying teachers and administration when the true problem falls directly on the student and parents.
Hillbilly D
September 13th, 2012
10:57 pm
When you get right down to it, if a person doesn’t want to go to prison, it’s pretty easy to avoid going. Millions and millions of people never spend a day in a prison, or even a county jail for that matter.
taco taco
September 14th, 2012
12:20 am
What makes the job so tough is every day you have to be larger than life for the kids, even on some days you don’t feel it. It takes a lot of patience. The good teacher knows how to earn the respect of the students by setting reasonable boundaries and sticking by them. At the same time, have fun delivering the curriculum and add in a corny joke here and there. Be firm, consistent in grading and expectations. Kids can be very immature, make dumb decisions, and may not behave right but I think most want to do what is right and try to their best against all the crazy obstacles they have in life. A teacher has to be flexible to meet all the mutli-faceted demands of the job. It is hard not to become jaded either.
seabeau
September 14th, 2012
5:21 am
Marueen, your accepting of these studies as valid shows your liberal bias. I suggest that You and your readers go to “The City” web page for their assessment of Mr.Obamas administration attempt to give thousands of minortity(Black) hoods a pass on their violent and disruptive behavior in our public schools. This fact is sad but true!
bootney farnsworth
September 14th, 2012
6:23 am
@ Hillbilly
I agree. in HS I was no stranger to the VP in charge of discipline. in nearly each and every case I was to blame for the actions which sent me there. and in the few times I wasn’t to blame, my history as a disruptive influence made me a logical suspect.
bootney farnsworth
September 14th, 2012
6:25 am
school is a pipeline to whatever a child wants it to be.
The Dixie Diarist
September 14th, 2012
7:12 am
taco taco … well said, my friend. You nailed it.
http://www.adixiediary.com
Jameson
September 14th, 2012
7:53 am
Don’t worry Ms. Dowd, Obama’s got this:
Executive Order — White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans
I predict that this will play out like NCLB (Race to the Top)
School administrators will make sure all races are punished equally, whether justified or not.
Doris M
September 14th, 2012
9:06 am
Please, no more Alternative Schools. They do not work. They just teach the kids to do bigger and badder things in the world. It’s just like prison, once they get out they are worse than when they started. I don’t know the solution, but alternative school is not it.
Lee
September 14th, 2012
9:43 am
Anyone else beside me have a problem with the DOE having an Office of Civil Rights? Talk about mission creep and sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong…
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
September 14th, 2012
9:47 am
As a former teacher and a current little league coach, I can say without doubt that these problems at school begin at home. The forward thinkers in some districts who are putting the parents of truent kids in jail or fining them are spot on. This is the avenue we need to head down. Tell a parent they are going to miss their shift at work, lose most of a weeks pay, or something worse because they havent raised their children to be functional if not contributing members to society, and you will get their attention.
It all starts at home. You have to step on the parents toes sometimes.
Its like Keanu Reeves said in “Parenthood”. “You have to have a license to drive a car, you gotta have a license to catch a fish…..but they’ll let any ole Arrssehole be a parent”
Woody
September 14th, 2012
10:06 am
Despite the nice people running them, schools have become for many an oppressive system that echoes the injustices they receive at home and observe and hear about in their neighborhood. I know it must be extremely disorienting for a dedicated teacher or principal to run up against these children who hate not just that child’s world and the people in it, but the teacher’s world and the people in it. I know this will sound stupid or vaporous to many of you readers, but the only answer to this is love. Love opens avenues of communication, and transforms people. “Yes, you hate me, but I love you anyway” is the only response to rejecting behavior that can mean anything. It is the soft answer that turneth away wrath.
Lexi
September 14th, 2012
10:37 am
Alternative schools do work, for the same reason prisons work. The “misguided”students and inmates cannot prey on innocents while the former are segregated from the latter. Even if “rehabilitation” doesn’t work it, the protection these separate institutions affords is worth the resources. A just society has every right and responsibility to protect its members from wrongdoers, even if the wrongdoers are worse off than if they were roaming freely.
katz
September 14th, 2012
11:18 am
Public education should be offered, not required. It should end after grade 6 with an exit exam. In order to exit, students should be able to read, write, balance a check book. They should also be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of the legislative process and causality. Anyone who does not pass should be offered an additional three years to ‘catch up’.
zeke
September 14th, 2012
11:28 am
Oh, here we go again! Blacks and other minorities suspended at a disproportionate rate! What a load of horse hockey! Larger numbers of young black males are arrested in proportion to population because of their actions! Same goes for suspension! Same goes for employment terminations! When you act the part of a thug! Look the part of a thug! YOU ARE A THUG! When you misbehave, do not respect authority and act out violently or repulsively, you and your parents are the problem, not the rest of us!
taco taco
September 14th, 2012
1:20 pm
There are too many people with different ideas trying to pull us in too many different directions.
David Nixon
September 14th, 2012
1:28 pm
I’m very skeptical when I see metrics like those mentioned in this article. My wife is a high school science teacher. She had a terrible year a few years back when a new principal decided to have his administration push back or ignore teachers when they wanted disruptive kids to be dealt with. It was a nightmare. This principal was a terrible communicator, but loved to dryly regurgitate metrics. At the end of the year, he got up in front of the school and congratulated everyone for being the best in the county in terms of reducing the number of student disciplinary referrals. Makes you want to throw up. Thankfully he has moved on…promoted to a cushy county position and probably in line for Superintendent.
Just A Teacher
September 14th, 2012
1:37 pm
The problem with these statistics are that they are STATISTICS! Students are not statistics; they are people. Some African-American kids are jerks as are some Caucasian kids, and some Latino kids, etc. I wish people would quit making decisions for children based on statistics and get to know them instead. Race doesn’t matter, people. Education is about individuals, not races or any other subgroup!
David Nixon
September 14th, 2012
2:23 pm
Why is everyone so willing to spend their time and money (and more importantly mine) to build more alternative schools and prisons to accommodate people that choose to be a drag on society? Maybe we can allow for a mistake, but “Oops..I really wanted a new phone and ended up robbing somebody” or “Oops..I lost focus for a minute and raped somebody but I’m good now”, just don’t cut it with me. I don’t really care why they can’t or won’t behave and I feel no obligation towards them. I just want them gone. Let somebody logical and dispassionate like me handle it and, I promise, you will be happy with the results.
APS Public School Mom
September 14th, 2012
5:02 pm
We as parents have a responsibility to teach, nurture and discipline our children. Their behavior in classrooms are an extension of ourselves. A school’s first priority should be to establish discipline and make the teacher’s job as stress free as possible. If my child is disruptive, call me on the phone first. Parents should be active in their child’s education but the teacher is in charge of the classroom. Administrators shouldnever leave disruptivechildren in the classroom. It interferes with the ability of the other students learning environment. The teacher should no tbe blamed for an absence of values that include respect of adults in the school. Just today a senator in Chicago likened striking Chicago teachers to thugs. The disrespect for teachers does not help with disciplining students. How can you expect a teachers who has children to respect youand yours if youdon’t respect them. We have to improve our teaching of values at home to begin to changethe culture of violence and disobedience at our schools.
All punishments for infractions should be the same for all children regardless of race or religion or ethnicity.
Bob
September 14th, 2012
5:32 pm
It seems like there is a false dichotomy in these comments. The underlying assumption is that a student must behave perfectly OR be suspended and that there is NO other possible effective methods of enforcing discipline. There are a lot more tools teachers and schools can use to discipline students.
I think the point is that somehow it seems like for some kids the first or second line of discipline is suspension, even when other equally disruptive students are given alternate classrooms that emphasize discipline and focus on schoolwork (alternative schools, in-class suspension, “boot camp” classrooms, etc.)
Ole Guy
September 14th, 2012
5:37 pm
We’ve all heard the term “…mountains out of mole hills…” that’s exactly what this is all about; in fact, this timely phrase just about describes 99.99% of the issues we “discuss” in these pages. There is no school-to-prison pipeline, unless, of course, the “poor downtroden recipients” of this pipeline wish to view it as such. Those who view the (what passes for) current disciplinary infrastructure as anything but what it is are, themselves, the root cause of this, and many more problems which have surfaced within the joke which has become the public education system. ONCE AGAIN, I implore…get rid of the psychologists; the “studies” authored by gurus of snake oil, and all the gd crap which has permeated the fabric of education and, unfortunately, the very conduct of social interaction. ONCE AGAIN, put teachers in complete charge of the classroom. THEY and THEY ALONE, should be the FIRST and FINAL word in anything regarding the education of these kids. If the kid _ _ ck _, roast his six and send him back into the game…the classroom. If he insists, through habitual and repeated infractions, on continued refusal to follow the gd rules of school society, throw him out; suspend him…call it whatever you wish. As long as we insist on trying to fit round pegs in square hole, we all lose…kids, adults, society, the whole damn enchalada. No rocket science here, just plain frequin common damn sense. Try it, it just might work, because it’s a damn sight true that all this crappin around sure as hell ain’t. Stop treating these kids like porclean gods.
Tangled
September 14th, 2012
5:45 pm
Wow. I agree.
Doneshia McCoy
September 14th, 2012
9:08 pm
After reading some of the comments made in this article, I am shocked and appalled by some of these responses. First and foremost, race may not seem as if it is an important subject but race and socioeconomic conditions proves to be an important factor when expressing feelings in regards to anything political or educational. Race is not pointed out to always say “the white man is bringing the black man down” but it is there to give you facts. If you don’t agree with some of the facts, that’s perfectly fine but please do not over look racial and socioeconomic factors, for we should know by now that they can and sometimes do play a role in today’s society.
Second, I have witness both sides of the stick when it comes to suspension. Sometimes students are stereotyped and automatically “made an example of” just because of one offense. Educators began to look at that student as a “problem child” and as a result find a way to turn a very minor and simple offence, which may be a part of growing up, into this big issue and then label it “correcting the repeated behavior” or something to that extent when it is the first time this behavior has been displayed.
I have also seen the other side. Sometimes you do have students that are often disturbing others from learning, and no I am not talking about those who sometimes laugh too loud or talks every now and then because LET’S BE HONEST students will talk when they are not suppose to AT LEAST TWICE throughout a year, but I am referring to those who CONSTANTLY are causing a disturbance by shouting and yelling and throwing things. I seen these students get sent to the office for a MAJOR offence and come right back into the classroom with no form of punishment. These students in turn have not learned that their behavior affects others or even that there are consequences for such behavior. After repeated, not once or twice repeated, but after CONSTANT repeated offenses then other measures may need to be taken. But once again we have to look at all the factors that may be attributed to students behaving the way they do. It is up to that educator (because you should know when you become an educator it is not just about teaching a subject but also about understanding your learners) to be able to identify or at least attempt to identify, and I say that timidly, all the factors affecting or causing the behavior. Is the student finished with their work? Are they being challenged enough? Is there any time in the classroom for them to misbehave? What is their home situation like? What is going on in their life at this exact moment?! These are just a few examples of what should go through an educator’s mind before even considering calling someone a “problem child” let alone suggesting alternative school. I hate to say it but sometimes it’s just the educator not caring or just not doing their job efficiently and effectively but sure blame the child. Let’s keep in mind students are kids, they’re children, if adults have bad days and have temper tantrums, why do you not expect some students to sometimes? And no I’m not saying that you will not have some students that need to be in a secluded learning environment but not all students do just because of some behaviors that we would really just label “annoying”.
So before we simply go off trying to suspend and place students in alternative schools (because once let’s be honest once alternative school they feel as though that is all that is left for them) please take a step back and evaluate the whole situation because once child feels “labeled” they usually tend to stick with whatever you say to play a role! I mean let’s face it, some teachers tell students that they will be in jail soon or will never be anything. Do you really think the student will dismiss that and decide to prove them wrong? If you continue to think they are the “problem child” they become that! I think therefore I am! If that’s all they hear or feel from educators, people who are suppose to enrich and inspire students to make something out of themselves, why we should expect them not to misbehave? Please just think before saying we need more alternative schools and more students should be there.
Doneshia McCoy
September 14th, 2012
9:31 pm
I also agree with Dr. Monica Henson. It is important for administrators to help assist teachers consistently and to also teach them and help them understand how to enforce rooms in the classroom. Sometimes we forget that teachers can and will affect the lives of others moreso than anyone else in this country. So to just throw a student out the classroom because of poor classroom management skills is unacceptable. This mentality of “I do not feel like dealing with it or I can’t handle it today” does push our kids into the school-to-prison pipeline with suspensions?
Reallyperplexed
September 14th, 2012
9:36 pm
Granted–Fedral prisons are overloaded by 35% or more, but I ask this simple question: When students are rude, disrespectful, skip classes, gang activity, bullying and the list goes on, what are school administrators to do? It is apparent that students have a sense of entitlement, along with many parents, with free education, no cost for books, free or reduced lunc and breakfast, demands for college scholarships, free transportation and still students come to school and consistently act inappropriate. Parents are little to no help and often fabricate to help their child get out of trouble. If we are TRULY trying to make our students career-ready, then we must teach them what is acceptable and what is unacceptable because, for some unknown reason, many students act as though they can not distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate actions. Maybe we should begin incarcerating the parents and make them more responsible parents.Just saing…
Here's a thought
September 14th, 2012
10:32 pm
“In 2010, U.S. schools suspended more than 3 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade. And many of those students were minorities and children with disabilities, according to a new analysis of data from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.”
Why does it matter if it is a special needs student? If the behavior is not a manifestation of the special need, then they should be punished. Special needs is not an umbrella term for “not responsible for his or her actions.” The race thing is silly as well. As a teacher, I discipline students who are disruptive regardless of what they look like and who their parents are.
niecey
September 15th, 2012
1:19 am
maureen, this must be your calling. i can’t see another reason why you continue to write these posts when all of these people with no solutions post and bash kids, point fingers, and do everything else but take responsibility for the fact that we are all` responsible for making sure that kids are raised to be responsible and educated citizens. i’d like to let you know that i don’t post often, but i get a lot out of the things that you post and it drives me to want to make the world a better place. may God bless continue to bless you by letting His light shine through you.
Eugene
September 15th, 2012
2:17 am
Since many if not most of public schools that are low income school districts have the look and feel of jails and/or prisons, I do not know why we continue to call these settings, including those with the title Alternative, schools. I believe that parent should be given more choices in how their children will be educated with public financing. It seems that it will be only a matter of time before many if not most low income school districts will have to defend themselves against allegations they are operating “separate but unequal” schools or school systems.
Pride and Joy
September 15th, 2012
7:00 am
HERE’S SOMETHING WEHAVEN”T TALKED ABOUT — ACTING OUT — some kids out act to get notuced because there is abuse at hime
Emily
September 15th, 2012
9:20 am
It seems that the folks with hands on experience dont really buy the school to prison pipeline, no matter how hard you push it. The pipeline begins in the family and that is the ugly truth we need to face Forty years of acting like the family does not matter needs to end if we are ever to make progress on these issues.
NWGA Teacher
September 15th, 2012
9:52 am
I see no such pipeline. Even toddlers can understand that choices carry consequences.
Predatory Lender
September 15th, 2012
10:02 am
Maureen,
Check out the arrests this week at Bibb County schools alone. Information previously not reported. Pretty ugly. These kids needed prison a long time ago.
PL
School
September 15th, 2012
12:17 pm
We spend so much effort trying to teach the children with behavior issues,but what about the students who come to school with manners and a desire to learn??? They are being ignored completely!!!
Morehouse
September 15th, 2012
12:56 pm
I had to comment…. Respondents such as @ mountain man are the true imbeciles in society that base their decisions on stereotypes and close-mindedness.. Im not sure if its a race issue more so than it is a socio-economic (poverty) issue. There has to be law and order in schools in order for learning to take place and truly dispruptive students have to be dealt with swiftly. However, thats not what the gravamon of this article conerns. Its the judgement calls on minor infractions such as talking or turning around in seat in cafeteria that gets kids sanctions.. The data clearly shows thats minorities and students with disabilties are far more likely to be on the the wrong end of a judgement call.
Zero Tolerance policies have there place in school for aggregious acts, however, no policy is gonna substitiute fot the fact that 11-13 years old kids are having biological changes and it affects the way they behave sometimes..We have to show them structure and order, but they stil are kids.. and are all wired differently..
Douglas County schools in metro Atlanta is one of the most egregiuos offenders of the issues referenced is this article.. check the data
Mrnumbersman
September 15th, 2012
2:15 pm
As a former director of an alternative school I can tell you beyond a shadow of doubt that the “School-to-Prison” pipeline is real. There have been so many students who left middle school and within 5 years were in prison. So many of them came to the school already involved in the juvenile justice system. The problems just got worse the older they became.
The problem with the article is the author wants to lay blame on an intolerant school system that is not sensitive to the diverse needs of the minorities involved in the school system. And because of this lack of sensitivity or racism then the education system becomes the easy-to-blame villain for the poor plight of so many students. But, what the study does not reveal is how many of these kids come from single parent homes. How many have been involved in drugs or have been sexually active at an early age. Or how many have absentee parents who were involved in the legal system themselves or have low regard for the education system themselves. Of course these things aren’t measured because they could point to some other cause for this problem other than education.
Call_Me-Crazy-But
September 15th, 2012
10:32 pm
And Douglas County is leading the way. They don’t know what to do with the influx of Black people moving here, so they suspend for every little thing. The microagressive behavior of the adults is creating a volatile environment here. There should be in place in every school district a hierarchal disciplinary plan with specific interventions prior to suspension…for every child; otherwise, if left to the discretion of the administrator an imbalance will persist.
The Truth
September 17th, 2012
10:08 pm
PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE….lets get the facts in order, reality in place and our heads thinking properly. As a volunteer and a parent. The system is flawed. EXTREMELY FLAWED. In the Atlanta Public Schools system history has been made by the cheating scandal. Adults. An administration that is still employed…board member have NOT changed. I am currently studying this system and OUR alternative school was SUED for a civil rights violation. They still operate in this capacity with no fear. NONE. Why? I tell you one thing…its not because of BAD kids. Its a BAD administration with no system of checks and balances. I have carefully observed these children with CHRONIC BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS and I will tell you this. If they are chronic ALL of us would have been in an alternative school. The fact of the matter in this case is that the system fails certain children based on the PERCEIVED notion that they will fail anyways and that isn’t their call to make. They need to do their job. Furthermore the difference between other schools and these schools is the SYSTEM…NOT the kids. My child is a VICTIM of this system. If I were not his mother and educated on these topics be would have been victimized further. I will say this. In a school system that would even entertain ZERO TOLERANCE policy regarding MINORS, I’d say all those that agree need a career change. Children are children BECAUSE they were meant to be tolerated. We as parents tolerate our children daily. I tell you what. When your child talks back ONCE send them to boarding school. Sound HARSH? Welcome to the zero tolerance system. Your child will be in prison in no time. These are kids people. Kids.