I’ve been reading, writing, thinking about schools as sites of love. Nationwide, districts are moving toward less punitive and more restorative approaches to school discipline. This shift comes at a time when the civil rights arms of the Department of Education and Department of Justice released guidance to districts about minimizing discriminatory and exclusionary discipline policies.
I’ve read comments complaining that humane approaches to discipline means ignoring misbehavior and allowing classrooms to deteriorate into chaos. This does not reflect the reality of schools that work to improve their climates nor the students and communities who are positively impacted by the changes.
Moving away from zero tolerance and other harsh discipline codes requires a multi-pronged approach including:
- supporting teachers with classroom management,
- helping faculty and staff unpack racial and ethnic stereotypes,
- eliminating zero-tolerance policies which by definition ignore context and mediation,
- regularly reviewing discipline policies for alignment with student achievement goals and common sense
- reviewing discipline records for consistent application of policies
- decriminalizing simple student misbehavior
- devising thoughtful approaches to correct and redirect unwanted behaviors
Late last week, the Chicago Tribune published this piece about Chicago Public Schools (CPS) working toward restoration.
“Chicago Public Schools has one of the highest suspension and expulsion rates and the disproportionate use of suspensions,” {District chief} Byrd-Bennett said. “We are going to reverse that trend.”
Efforts are underway to collaborate with the privately run charter schools within the district, but challenges may be ahead:
The city’s charter schools have been criticized for pushing out troubled children with harsh discipline policies and fines. Charter leaders have maintained that tougher discipline has led to safer schools.
The Illinois Network of Charter Schools said in a written statement that it takes “very seriously” the use of appropriate discipline, and looks forward to collaborating with CPS to examine the issue.
“Chicago charter public schools have a history of adopting proven and innovative approaches to creating a school culture that works to avoid the most punitive responses to behavior issues,” the statement said.
As I read this, I’m wondering about the relationship between “tougher discipline” and “innovative approaches” that “avoid the most punitive responses to behavior issues.” Tough is associated with punitive and retributive, not restorative.
Read the piece in full here.