DCPS suspending students and not accounting for it, and now the ACLU is getting involved

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

I'll make it easier:
"Key to Ron Brown’s success, staffers say, is an unusual approach to discipline and team-building, introduced to students before classes began last August, that all but prohibits out-of-school suspensions. So-called “restorative justice” offers victims the opportunity to confront classroom tormentors face-to-face.

If students get into a fight, for instance, they're not suspended, as in other D.C. schools. They must come together with others in their class, in a circle, and talk openly about how the conflict affected them. Even bystanders are expected to take part. Students name names and don’t hold back.

The school’s psychologist and one of its founders, Dr. Charles Curtis, said last August that the confrontational approach is actually protective: “We want to say their names now, while they are alive.”

He said the circle also allows students to confide in others about family difficulties — at least four students lost parents over the school year, and several lost other family members.

Ten months later, Curtis is more devoted to the technique than ever, saying the identity development of young black men is “marred with expectations of criminality, expectations of pathology, expectations of aggression and hyper-sexuality — and all kinds of other stuff that people impose on them.”

The school’s approach: smother students in affection and, if you ask the students, sometimes overwhelming attention.

Teachers and staff inquire about their families. They talk almost non-stop about the future, about planning and risk-taking and second chances. After school, they offer rides home and walk students to nearby bus and subway stops.


This is a recipe for disaster and some young kid being sexually abused or getting involved in something bad. I don't mind teachers patrolling bus stops, but I do mind them providing rides to students and such. Poor children are often left open and vulnerable to predators.

“You can see that they actually do care for you,” said Matthews, “they don’t just leave you out in the wind.” (He recalled that at his middle school, uniformed guards, not teachers, patrolled the bus stop.)

The restorative approach actually requires a bigger commitment to discipline than simply sending misbehaving students home to their parents for a few days, said founding principal Benjamin Williams. For one thing, there may be nobody home.

Most of the students, he said, “have really bought in to the idea that suspension is not a consequence for behavior, that they’re going to have to take ownership at some point.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

I'll make it easier:
"Key to Ron Brown’s success, staffers say, is an unusual approach to discipline and team-building, introduced to students before classes began last August, that all but prohibits out-of-school suspensions. So-called “restorative justice” offers victims the opportunity to confront classroom tormentors face-to-face.

If students get into a fight, for instance, they're not suspended, as in other D.C. schools. They must come together with others in their class, in a circle, and talk openly about how the conflict affected them. Even bystanders are expected to take part. Students name names and don’t hold back.

The school’s psychologist and one of its founders, Dr. Charles Curtis, said last August that the confrontational approach is actually protective: “We want to say their names now, while they are alive.”

He said the circle also allows students to confide in others about family difficulties — at least four students lost parents over the school year, and several lost other family members.

Ten months later, Curtis is more devoted to the technique than ever, saying the identity development of young black men is “marred with expectations of criminality, expectations of pathology, expectations of aggression and hyper-sexuality — and all kinds of other stuff that people impose on them.”

The school’s approach: smother students in affection and, if you ask the students, sometimes overwhelming attention.

Teachers and staff inquire about their families. They talk almost non-stop about the future, about planning and risk-taking and second chances. After school, they offer rides home and walk students to nearby bus and subway stops.

“You can see that they actually do care for you,” said Matthews, “they don’t just leave you out in the wind.” (He recalled that at his middle school, uniformed guards, not teachers, patrolled the bus stop.)

The restorative approach actually requires a bigger commitment to discipline than simply sending misbehaving students home to their parents for a few days, said founding principal Benjamin Williams. For one thing, there may be nobody home.

Most of the students, he said, “have really bought in to the idea that suspension is not a consequence for behavior, that they’re going to have to take ownership at some point.”

So, it's a good alternative to suspension because someone wrote about it? A lot of these schools know how to put a positive spin mediocre ideas. People see buzzwords like restorative and get excited. I'll believe it when I see it and candidly talk to the students who attend the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

+1
Great perspective. Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

This is a charter school, yes? So there's no chance that DCPS would actually learn anything from the successes or failures here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a charter school, yes? So there's no chance that DCPS would actually learn anything from the successes or failures here.

Ron Brown is a DCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

I'll make it easier:
"Key to Ron Brown’s success, staffers say, is an unusual approach to discipline and team-building, introduced to students before classes began last August, that all but prohibits out-of-school suspensions. So-called “restorative justice” offers victims the opportunity to confront classroom tormentors face-to-face.

If students get into a fight, for instance, they're not suspended, as in other D.C. schools. They must come together with others in their class, in a circle, and talk openly about how the conflict affected them. Even bystanders are expected to take part. Students name names and don’t hold back.

The school’s psychologist and one of its founders, Dr. Charles Curtis, said last August that the confrontational approach is actually protective: “We want to say their names now, while they are alive.”

He said the circle also allows students to confide in others about family difficulties — at least four students lost parents over the school year, and several lost other family members.

Ten months later, Curtis is more devoted to the technique than ever, saying the identity development of young black men is “marred with expectations of criminality, expectations of pathology, expectations of aggression and hyper-sexuality — and all kinds of other stuff that people impose on them.”

The school’s approach: smother students in affection and, if you ask the students, sometimes overwhelming attention.

Teachers and staff inquire about their families. They talk almost non-stop about the future, about planning and risk-taking and second chances. After school, they offer rides home and walk students to nearby bus and subway stops.

“You can see that they actually do care for you,” said Matthews, “they don’t just leave you out in the wind.” (He recalled that at his middle school, uniformed guards, not teachers, patrolled the bus stop.)

The restorative approach actually requires a bigger commitment to discipline than simply sending misbehaving students home to their parents for a few days, said founding principal Benjamin Williams. For one thing, there may be nobody home.

Most of the students, he said, “have really bought in to the idea that suspension is not a consequence for behavior, that they’re going to have to take ownership at some point.”

So, it's a good alternative to suspension because someone wrote about it? A lot of these schools know how to put a positive spin mediocre ideas. People see buzzwords like restorative and get excited. I'll believe it when I see it and candidly talk to the students who attend the school.

It may or may not be a good idea to export, but it's working for this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

I'll make it easier:
"Key to Ron Brown’s success, staffers say, is an unusual approach to discipline and team-building, introduced to students before classes began last August, that all but prohibits out-of-school suspensions. So-called “restorative justice” offers victims the opportunity to confront classroom tormentors face-to-face.

If students get into a fight, for instance, they're not suspended, as in other D.C. schools. They must come together with others in their class, in a circle, and talk openly about how the conflict affected them. Even bystanders are expected to take part. Students name names and don’t hold back.

The school’s psychologist and one of its founders, Dr. Charles Curtis, said last August that the confrontational approach is actually protective: “We want to say their names now, while they are alive.”

He said the circle also allows students to confide in others about family difficulties — at least four students lost parents over the school year, and several lost other family members.

Ten months later, Curtis is more devoted to the technique than ever, saying the identity development of young black men is “marred with expectations of criminality, expectations of pathology, expectations of aggression and hyper-sexuality — and all kinds of other stuff that people impose on them.”

The school’s approach: smother students in affection and, if you ask the students, sometimes overwhelming attention.

Teachers and staff inquire about their families. They talk almost non-stop about the future, about planning and risk-taking and second chances. After school, they offer rides home and walk students to nearby bus and subway stops.

“You can see that they actually do care for you,” said Matthews, “they don’t just leave you out in the wind.” (He recalled that at his middle school, uniformed guards, not teachers, patrolled the bus stop.)

The restorative approach actually requires a bigger commitment to discipline than simply sending misbehaving students home to their parents for a few days, said founding principal Benjamin Williams. For one thing, there may be nobody home.

Most of the students, he said, “have really bought in to the idea that suspension is not a consequence for behavior, that they’re going to have to take ownership at some point.”

So, it's a good alternative to suspension because someone wrote about it? A lot of these schools know how to put a positive spin mediocre ideas. People see buzzwords like restorative and get excited. I'll believe it when I see it and candidly talk to the students who attend the school.

It may or may not be a good idea to export, but it's working for this school.

The school just started last fall.
I'll believe its working when there is hard data in 5 years. As another poster noted above, people use buzz words like restorative justice. It is not the school's job to restore anyone, their parents are responsible for restorative justice for putting their children in impoverished crime ridden neighborhoods and no prospects of a future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

I'll make it easier:
"Key to Ron Brown’s success, staffers say, is an unusual approach to discipline and team-building, introduced to students before classes began last August, that all but prohibits out-of-school suspensions. So-called “restorative justice” offers victims the opportunity to confront classroom tormentors face-to-face.

If students get into a fight, for instance, they're not suspended, as in other D.C. schools. They must come together with others in their class, in a circle, and talk openly about how the conflict affected them. Even bystanders are expected to take part. Students name names and don’t hold back.

The school’s psychologist and one of its founders, Dr. Charles Curtis, said last August that the confrontational approach is actually protective: “We want to say their names now, while they are alive.”

He said the circle also allows students to confide in others about family difficulties — at least four students lost parents over the school year, and several lost other family members.

Ten months later, Curtis is more devoted to the technique than ever, saying the identity development of young black men is “marred with expectations of criminality, expectations of pathology, expectations of aggression and hyper-sexuality — and all kinds of other stuff that people impose on them.”

The school’s approach: smother students in affection and, if you ask the students, sometimes overwhelming attention.

Teachers and staff inquire about their families. They talk almost non-stop about the future, about planning and risk-taking and second chances. After school, they offer rides home and walk students to nearby bus and subway stops.

“You can see that they actually do care for you,” said Matthews, “they don’t just leave you out in the wind.” (He recalled that at his middle school, uniformed guards, not teachers, patrolled the bus stop.)

The restorative approach actually requires a bigger commitment to discipline than simply sending misbehaving students home to their parents for a few days, said founding principal Benjamin Williams. For one thing, there may be nobody home.

Most of the students, he said, “have really bought in to the idea that suspension is not a consequence for behavior, that they’re going to have to take ownership at some point.”

So, it's a good alternative to suspension because someone wrote about it? A lot of these schools know how to put a positive spin mediocre ideas. People see buzzwords like restorative and get excited. I'll believe it when I see it and candidly talk to the students who attend the school.

It may or may not be a good idea to export, but it's working for this school.

The school just started last fall.
I'll believe its working when there is hard data in 5 years. As another poster noted above, people use buzz words like restorative justice. It is not the school's job to restore anyone, their parents are responsible for restorative justice for putting their children in impoverished crime ridden neighborhoods and no prospects of a future.

What a charming attitude! Sounds like you have everything figured out. Glad to know there shouldn't be any kind of attempts made to address discipline in a different way. Thanks for clarifying that for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

I'll make it easier:
"Key to Ron Brown’s success, staffers say, is an unusual approach to discipline and team-building, introduced to students before classes began last August, that all but prohibits out-of-school suspensions. So-called “restorative justice” offers victims the opportunity to confront classroom tormentors face-to-face.

If students get into a fight, for instance, they're not suspended, as in other D.C. schools. They must come together with others in their class, in a circle, and talk openly about how the conflict affected them. Even bystanders are expected to take part. Students name names and don’t hold back.

The school’s psychologist and one of its founders, Dr. Charles Curtis, said last August that the confrontational approach is actually protective: “We want to say their names now, while they are alive.”

He said the circle also allows students to confide in others about family difficulties — at least four students lost parents over the school year, and several lost other family members.

Ten months later, Curtis is more devoted to the technique than ever, saying the identity development of young black men is “marred with expectations of criminality, expectations of pathology, expectations of aggression and hyper-sexuality — and all kinds of other stuff that people impose on them.”

The school’s approach: smother students in affection and, if you ask the students, sometimes overwhelming attention.

Teachers and staff inquire about their families. They talk almost non-stop about the future, about planning and risk-taking and second chances. After school, they offer rides home and walk students to nearby bus and subway stops.

“You can see that they actually do care for you,” said Matthews, “they don’t just leave you out in the wind.” (He recalled that at his middle school, uniformed guards, not teachers, patrolled the bus stop.)

The restorative approach actually requires a bigger commitment to discipline than simply sending misbehaving students home to their parents for a few days, said founding principal Benjamin Williams. For one thing, there may be nobody home.

Most of the students, he said, “have really bought in to the idea that suspension is not a consequence for behavior, that they’re going to have to take ownership at some point.”

So, it's a good alternative to suspension because someone wrote about it? A lot of these schools know how to put a positive spin mediocre ideas. People see buzzwords like restorative and get excited. I'll believe it when I see it and candidly talk to the students who attend the school.

It may or may not be a good idea to export, but it's working for this school.

The school just started last fall.
I'll believe its working when there is hard data in 5 years. As another poster noted above, people use buzz words like restorative justice. It is not the school's job to restore anyone, their parents are responsible for restorative justice for putting their children in impoverished crime ridden neighborhoods and no prospects of a future.

What a charming attitude! Sounds like you have everything figured out. Glad to know there shouldn't be any kind of attempts made to address discipline in a different way. Thanks for clarifying that for us.

You must not be a teacher. There is truth to PP statement. Many schools adopt shiny new programs and call it success after a few months. When it isn't successful, then they drop it for the next shiny new program. 5 years, is a reasonable amount of time for hard data points..

[Anonymous]

There is a fine line between discipline and parenting. Schools do need to be innovative and creative in in their discipline, to ensure that students don't miss instructional time. But there is a small fraction of kids who don't want to be in school. We must acknowledge that these children bring a myriad of issues to school stemming from their communities and parents. Schools are built around communities but the schools can't be parents and educate. It's why impoverished schools struggle in test scores and these children are under-prepared for college and career readiness. The truth may sting but these schools are trying to be parents and fix the emotional/social issues these kids bring to school before educating them. There is clearly not enough time to fix broken children and educate in ten months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ron Brown high school forbids almost all suspensions and has a much better approach. Perhaps this is a strategy that should be adopted...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/05/dc-all-boys-high-school/102898672/

I'm skeptical of ANY school that says that they don't suspend students. Especially, if they have some "new" better approach. Schools need consistency and follow through. BTW, principals are afraid to perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline so they ignore disruptive students who need discipline and effective socio-emotional supports. How about investing in more school counselors? How about giving students more recess time? How about more field trips?

Good grief- READ THE ARTICLE-- counseling is essentially what they do instead of suspensions.

I guess, I'll through in my two cents, I am a former DCPS school counselor. When an administrator or I suggested counseling, parents often fell into two categories: Absolutely refusing to acknowledging they have issues because it is seen as uncool or a "white people thing" to speak to a counselor about your problems and try to resolve them OR the second issue was that families has inter-generational issues and several layers of issues that could not be resolved by the school. Those families often needed a referral for a professional that had the time and exprience to del with that many layers. People need to realize that counseling professionals are expensive and the families DCPS often serves are poor and its likely their gov't sponsored insurance may not cover counseling services.

I'll make it easier:
"Key to Ron Brown’s success, staffers say, is an unusual approach to discipline and team-building, introduced to students before classes began last August, that all but prohibits out-of-school suspensions. So-called “restorative justice” offers victims the opportunity to confront classroom tormentors face-to-face.

If students get into a fight, for instance, they're not suspended, as in other D.C. schools. They must come together with others in their class, in a circle, and talk openly about how the conflict affected them. Even bystanders are expected to take part. Students name names and don’t hold back.

The school’s psychologist and one of its founders, Dr. Charles Curtis, said last August that the confrontational approach is actually protective: “We want to say their names now, while they are alive.”

He said the circle also allows students to confide in others about family difficulties — at least four students lost parents over the school year, and several lost other family members.

Ten months later, Curtis is more devoted to the technique than ever, saying the identity development of young black men is “marred with expectations of criminality, expectations of pathology, expectations of aggression and hyper-sexuality — and all kinds of other stuff that people impose on them.”

The school’s approach: smother students in affection and, if you ask the students, sometimes overwhelming attention.

Teachers and staff inquire about their families. They talk almost non-stop about the future, about planning and risk-taking and second chances. After school, they offer rides home and walk students to nearby bus and subway stops.

“You can see that they actually do care for you,” said Matthews, “they don’t just leave you out in the wind.” (He recalled that at his middle school, uniformed guards, not teachers, patrolled the bus stop.)

The restorative approach actually requires a bigger commitment to discipline than simply sending misbehaving students home to their parents for a few days, said founding principal Benjamin Williams. For one thing, there may be nobody home.

Most of the students, he said, “have really bought in to the idea that suspension is not a consequence for behavior, that they’re going to have to take ownership at some point.”

So, it's a good alternative to suspension because someone wrote about it? A lot of these schools know how to put a positive spin mediocre ideas. People see buzzwords like restorative and get excited. I'll believe it when I see it and candidly talk to the students who attend the school.

It may or may not be a good idea to export, but it's working for this school.

The school just started last fall.
I'll believe its working when there is hard data in 5 years. As another poster noted above, people use buzz words like restorative justice. It is not the school's job to restore anyone, their parents are responsible for restorative justice for putting their children in impoverished crime ridden neighborhoods and no prospects of a future.

What a charming attitude! Sounds like you have everything figured out. Glad to know there shouldn't be any kind of attempts made to address discipline in a different way. Thanks for clarifying that for us.

You must not be a teacher. There is truth to PP statement. Many schools adopt shiny new programs and call it success after a few months. When it isn't successful, then they drop it for the next shiny new program. 5 years, is a reasonable amount of time for hard data points..

I'm not suggesting 5 years isn't a good time for data points. But pp was already discounting any possibility that it might work simply because it is new, and therefore useless.

To me, the program seems to have the potential to teach kids some good social-emotional skills while addressing discipline. That's not something any suspension does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a fine line between discipline and parenting. Schools do need to be innovative and creative in in their discipline, to ensure that students don't miss instructional time. But there is a small fraction of kids who don't want to be in school. We must acknowledge that these children bring a myriad of issues to school stemming from their communities and parents. Schools are built around communities but the schools can't be parents and educate. It's why impoverished schools struggle in test scores and these children are under-prepared for college and career readiness. The truth may sting but these schools are trying to be parents and fix the emotional/social issues these kids bring to school before educating them. There is clearly not enough time to fix broken children and educate in ten months.

+2 We left DCPS, after free pre-k to surround ourselves with diverse schools (economically and culturally) but DH and I don't have time to deal with schools "fixing people" or experimenting what works trying to close an achievement gap and not also focusing on children who are academically on grade level. I want my children to be pushed to be their best and I also want to know that the parents of the school community are involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a fine line between discipline and parenting. Schools do need to be innovative and creative in in their discipline, to ensure that students don't miss instructional time. But there is a small fraction of kids who don't want to be in school. We must acknowledge that these children bring a myriad of issues to school stemming from their communities and parents. Schools are built around communities but the schools can't be parents and educate. It's why impoverished schools struggle in test scores and these children are under-prepared for college and career readiness. The truth may sting but these schools are trying to be parents and fix the emotional/social issues these kids bring to school before educating them. There is clearly not enough time to fix broken children and educate in ten months.

Actually, in situations where everyone involved acknowledges that student success demands more than just standard academic teaching, student outcomes are much better. Schools can work with other social service interventions to provide better outcomes for students through wraparound services. It's been tried in many places with a lot of success. Conservatives argue that this is not the schools' job and that parents are solely morally responsible for ensuring good outcomes. The way I look at it, no kid chooses to be born into poverty, violence and chaos. If schools and social service agencies can work together to make children's lives better, not doing so is the immoral choice. From a purely practical standpoint, education, food and other services are cheaper than prisons, and I'd prefer to live in safe communities where kids needs are addressed than a police state trying to deal with the consequences of neglecting those needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a fine line between discipline and parenting. Schools do need to be innovative and creative in in their discipline, to ensure that students don't miss instructional time. But there is a small fraction of kids who don't want to be in school. We must acknowledge that these children bring a myriad of issues to school stemming from their communities and parents. Schools are built around communities but the schools can't be parents and educate. It's why impoverished schools struggle in test scores and these children are under-prepared for college and career readiness. The truth may sting but these schools are trying to be parents and fix the emotional/social issues these kids bring to school before educating them. There is clearly not enough time to fix broken children and educate in ten months.

Actually, in situations where everyone involved acknowledges that student success demands more than just standard academic teaching, student outcomes are much better. Schools can work with other social service interventions to provide better outcomes for students through wraparound services. It's been tried in many places with a lot of success. Conservatives argue that this is not the schools' job and that parents are solely morally responsible for ensuring good outcomes. The way I look at it, no kid chooses to be born into poverty, violence and chaos. If schools and social service agencies can work together to make children's lives better, not doing so is the immoral choice. From a purely practical standpoint, education, food and other services are cheaper than prisons, and I'd prefer to live in safe communities where kids needs are addressed than a police state trying to deal with the consequences of neglecting those needs.

I'm not conservative but practical, while children are not chosen to be born into poverty, its the poor choices that their parents make. You clearly are refusing to place blame on the shoulders of the parents. Parents need to work with social workers, etc but to outright refuse to acknowledge that poor parents are at fault is ridiculous. I also would prefer to live in a safe neighborhood, and in fact I do. But the fact remains, these children are broken BECAUSE OF THEIR PARENTS!! These children then repeat the same cycle by becoming unwed parents and etc. I would prefer to have parenting workshops but I would also prefer to not have to continue to pay for wrap-around services from people's inter-generational problems. How hard is it to not get pregnant before being stable and married? It's far easier than struggling to be a single parent on assistance and welfare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a fine line between discipline and parenting. Schools do need to be innovative and creative in in their discipline, to ensure that students don't miss instructional time. But there is a small fraction of kids who don't want to be in school. We must acknowledge that these children bring a myriad of issues to school stemming from their communities and parents. Schools are built around communities but the schools can't be parents and educate. It's why impoverished schools struggle in test scores and these children are under-prepared for college and career readiness. The truth may sting but these schools are trying to be parents and fix the emotional/social issues these kids bring to school before educating them. There is clearly not enough time to fix broken children and educate in ten months.

+2 We left DCPS, after free pre-k to surround ourselves with diverse schools (economically and culturally) but DH and I don't have time to deal with schools "fixing people" or experimenting what works trying to close an achievement gap and not also focusing on children who are academically on grade level. I want my children to be pushed to be their best and I also want to know that the parents of the school community are involved.

Good for you - then this discussion has nothing to do with you. Why are you here?