Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Daniel J. Losen
Additional Recommendations
Informed by Recent Research
National Average
Syracuse
Difference
ALL
11.3
30.8
+19.5
White
7.1
19.1
+12
Black
24.3
38.2
+13.9
Hispanic
12
29.5
+17.5
English Learners
11.3
15.2
+3.9
19.3
44.1
+24.8
Frequent Comments
You must kick out the bad kids so the good kids can learn.
There are really just a few bad kids that are getting into trouble
over and over.
Suggest that we should not structure schools to educate all
children, or just cant afford toOR
Assume that all the behavior leading to out-of-school suspensions is
severe and/or dangerous, or will escalate to such a level.
The parents and not the schools are the problem so no change is
warranted.
Often conclude that there is no better way than the status quo of
high suspension rates, thus change = chaos.
Fail to acknowledge that the concern about school discipline
reflects a deeper concern about academic and life outcomes for all
students in Syracuse.
Without Disabilities
With Disabilities
Asian/Pacific Islander
4.1
16.1
Black
64.2
104.9
Latino
44
75.8
American Indian
40.6
21.5
White
31.2
57
ALL
47.1
84.1
Adult Roles
Neither son has exhibited any of the serious bad behavior in school that
I have seen at home, and neither son has ever been suspended.
I believe that my two sons are really good kids.
I do reflect on and try to continuously improve my parenting because I am
at least partially responsible for the development of their sense of
appropriate behavior.
Similarly, as a teacher, when my students misbehaved, I reflected on my
teaching. When I improved my teaching, the classroom misbehaviors
declined.
I found it helped my classroom management when I assumed that my
students were good and made concerted efforts to find good qualities in
each student.
I learned that my ability to identify each students strengths, and
communicate my interest and appreciation of their positive qualities did
influence whether they behaved well or poorly.
Pedro Nogueras research findings.
June 2014 The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the Field
to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System
Second Chances?
In-school suspension is one of many
responses.
A short-term increase in in-school suspensions
and a decline in out-of-school suspensions is
not ideal, but more likely than not a good sign
of progress in Syracuse (even if problem
behaviors remain high) considering the
following findings:
In 2012-13: For each group divide the number of ISS by the number of OSS at each
school.
A rate of 1.0 means that as many students received an OSS as received an ISS.
In theory these could be the same children, or two completely different sets of
children.
District wide there was almost no difference for Black and White students on this
measure (1.14 and 1.11 respectively). This suggests that for violating a school rule
in Syracuse, Black and White students are almost equally likely to get an OSS as an
ISS.
Shows the relationship between an alternative to out of school suspension and
OSS
2.0 or higher: Bellevue Elementary; Delaware, Dr. Weeks ES, Hughes ES, H.W. Smith
K-8; Roberts; Salem Hyde ES; Seymour ES; Van Duyn ES
0.75 or less: Clary MS, Corcoran HS; Danforth MS; Expeditionary Learning MS;
LeMoyen ES, Fowler HS; Huntington MS; Institute of Technology at Syracuse
Central; Nottingham HS
Race
Disability
Perceptions likely affected:
1) of whether an offense is even occurring;
2) the type and degree of the offense; and
3) the severity of response called for.
Concrete violations like gun or drug possession
involve fewer subjective perceptions.
60
57.0
White: Out-of-School Suspensions per 100 Students
Black: Out-of-School Suspensions per 100 Students
50
Gap
27
40
30.0
30
20
10
Gap
1.3
1.2
2.5
0
Offenses involving weapons, drugs,
and violence with injury
80.0
70
80
suspensions
60
50
Gap 36
Black Students with Disabilities: Out-of-School
Suspensions per 100 Students
40
30
44
suspensions
20
10
0
Gap
2.1
4.0
Minor Offenses
7th Recommendation
(also underway)
Establish an early warning system based on
three factors:
Chronic absenteeism
Core academic course failure
Behavior
For individual students, and also for schools by
grade level.
Quarterly Reports
Accurate data
Data that reliably predicts annual levels
Data that reminds us of the impact on students
and instructional time
Data that can be used to evaluate and adjust
interventions while the year is in progress.
School and cross-district and grade level
comparisons
Need to look at race, gender and disability and
compare disparities throughout the year
Subgroup
Black Students
at School Z
Quarter
1
A: Cumulative
Student Count
Unduplicated
10
25
40
48
B: First Time
Suspended
Student Count
Per Quarter
10
15
15
C: Cumulative
Risk = Divide
Row A by
enrollment
10/100
10%
25/100
25%
40/100
40%
48/100
47%
Annual
48%
Total
Suspensions
23
35
38
57
153
suspensions
48 students
Days of Lost
Instruction
69
70
105
125
369
48/4 = 12
Per Quarter
Average
Annual Reports
Add low frequency responses such as expulsions, arrests, referral to
law enforcement and transfer to alternative school
Look at trends for prior years by discipline response type: Are
arrests rising as suspensions are falling?
Risks for in and out-of-school suspension calculated separately
Comparison of alternative disciplinary actions with out of school
suspension
Counts of suspensions by offense category
Closer look at cross-sections (e.g., race with disability)
Days of lost instruction
School climate survey results should be analyzed along side the
empirical data on outcomes
Achievement, attendance, grade retention and graduation rate data
should also be analyzed together with school climate indicators.
55
50
39
40
30
20
30
29
26
15
10
0
6-8 in K8
Middle School
Black
White
Latino
Black
25
White
20
Latino
15
10
5
0
E. Smith
Frazer
Black
30
White
20
Latino
10
0
Clary
Danforth
Ex.
Learning
Grant
Lincoln
Westside
Ac.
The End
Daniel J. Losen
Independent Consultant and
Director, Center for Civil Rights Remedies of
the Civil Rights Project at UCLA
New Reports
http://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/
losendan@gmail.com
781-861-1222
54