Anonymous wrote:I think its suspicious that multiple schools were all doing the same exact thing--was this a directive from up above or did they all just spontaneously stumble upon this strategy the same year at the same time?

"D.C. Public Schools reported that suspensions drop­ped 40 percent from 11,078 in 2013-2014 to 6,695 in 2015-2016, but some education advocates are questioning whether DCPS is truly doing a better job keeping students in class."

This is a numbers game. Schools with high suspension numbers look bad. Therefore, principals are doing one of two things -1) not reprimanding students 2) reprimanding, but not recording it. Imagine a school where you do wrong, but aren't reprimanded for it. It chaotic! And you wonder why teachers are quitting and going to work in other schools/districts.

Anonymous wrote:Former DCPS teacher here! At my old school the exact opposite would happen. We wouldn't suspend kids who assaulted teachers and/or classmates. Suspension rates are directly linked to a principals evaluation in dcps. They are fearful to suspend (even when it is warranted) because it puts their job in jeopardy. It's one of the reasons I left the system. Faculty should never be abused and children get sent back to class. I think perhaps these principals didn't document it, but suspended children secretly bc they knew the faculty would quit if the outrageous behavior went unpunished. That being said, I completely disagree with this effort to stop suspensions. Yes, children should have the chance for rehabilitation, but at the same time there needs to be consequences for violent behavior. In -some- DCPS schools, kids aren't suspended for throwing chairs and smashing windows during class! I personally couldn't tolerate my safety, and other children's safety being put in jeopardy , just so the principal can brag that suspension rates have lowered at their school. Good riddance DCPS!

I have to agree with this. I don't think enough students are suspended. I'm troubled by the secrecy and hypocrisy, but not the attempt to impose some kind of order in the zoo.

Former DCPS teacher here! At my old school the exact opposite would happen. We wouldn't suspend kids who assaulted teachers and/or classmates. Suspension rates are directly linked to a principals evaluation in dcps. They are fearful to suspend (even when it is warranted) because it puts their job in jeopardy. It's one of the reasons I left the system. Faculty should never be abused and children get sent back to class. I think perhaps these principals didn't document it, but suspended children secretly bc they knew the faculty would quit if the outrageous behavior went unpunished. That being said, I completely disagree with this effort to stop suspensions. Yes, children should have the chance for rehabilitation, but at the same time there needs to be consequences for violent behavior. In -some- DCPS schools, kids aren't suspended for throwing chairs and smashing windows during class! I personally couldn't tolerate my safety, and other children's safety being put in jeopardy , just so the principal can brag that suspension rates have lowered at their school. Good riddance DCPS!

Anonymous wrote:So they would be secretly (no paperwork) telling the students they were suspended but then not recording it anywhere? That's crazy.

No, they would be telling the principals explicitly not to document suspensions as "suspensions" and to find other ways to "manage their students" such as the solutions that multiple schools managed to arrive at (do you believe that's independently?) as spelled out in the article.

Yes, it's top down. Obviously. The same way cheating is top down. The same way short-changing SN students is top down. The same way overfilling desirable schools is top down.

There is no bubbling up in DCPS.

Anonymous wrote:So they would be secretly (no paperwork) telling the students they were suspended but then not recording it anywhere? That's crazy.

They'd avoid the word 'suspend' and simply call the parents. And record it as anything but suspension.

So they would be secretly (no paperwork) telling the students they were suspended but then not recording it anywhere? That's crazy.

I think its suspicious that multiple schools were all doing the same exact thing--was this a directive from up above or did they all just spontaneously stumble upon this strategy the same year at the same time?

Anonymous wrote:Many of the kids being fake-suspended have IEPs, and under federal law they have specific rights around suspensions. In particular, after they have been suspended for 10 days (total, not necessarily consecutively) in one year, there has to be a determination if their misbehavior is the result of their disability and, if so, what other services will be put in place to support them (which, if done right, would support everyone because it would reduce incidents of misbehavior). By failing to document all exclusion from school as suspensions, these kids are being denied their rights under federal law.

No state has done a worse job for kids with IEPs than DC. It's a disgrace, so this comes as no surprise that DCPS would be trying to hide its malfeasance.

They don't want to pay for what it takes to educate them. Here's the truth: it's harder to educate children with special needs. That means it costs more. We aren't willing to build it (what happened to the SN school that was supposed to get built at Francis Stevens - both to educate the students, but also train the teachers)? Then we don't want to pay to send them private schools either.

I know! Let's cover it up by suspending them without documentation!

DCPS and DCPCS both need:

* better (more honest) data on suspensions. Requiring someone to pick their kid up early is a suspension (an issue for all ages: high school and middle schools, PKs that "require" potty training, etc.)

* in-school suspension for kids who are too disruptive for the classroom but not going to get any better if they sit at home.

* better following of IDEA for kids with special needs. More self-contained classrooms. The emotional disturbance classrooms shouldn't all be in schools with low test scores and lots of behavioral problems in the mainstream classrooms, either...how will kids learn to do better if they can't push in with peers who function well?

Many of the kids being fake-suspended have IEPs, and under federal law they have specific rights around suspensions. In particular, after they have been suspended for 10 days (total, not necessarily consecutively) in one year, there has to be a determination if their misbehavior is the result of their disability and, if so, what other services will be put in place to support them (which, if done right, would support everyone because it would reduce incidents of misbehavior). By failing to document all exclusion from school as suspensions, these kids are being denied their rights under federal law.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course, if DCPS suspends students it needs to own it and report it as such. That said, I'm all for suspending students that deserve it (there is a pretty detailed handbook that outlines infractions that warrant suspension). DCPS wants to play it both ways...they want the troublemakers who make it awful for everyone out of the school (frankly, so do I) but they want to be able to point to nice data points that seem to show they are "reaching" more kids and figuring out ways to avoid suspensions and keep students in school.

No one ever wants to state the uncomfortable truth in DC that some teens are so out of control that they don't deserve to be in the regular school population. I'm a reasonable and educated person...I can understand that suspension is not a great solution because it further isolates and sends a "you're bad" message. I don't want these kids treated like losts causes...I just want there to be different solutions for them. So they are unable to cut it in the regular high school setting? OK. Let's create some sort of vocation program where they can learn a skill that they can take pride in? Create alternative school options for these hard discipline cases.

DCPS HAS SEVERAL VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS!! We don't need to 'create' anything.

Agreed. I'm with the PP about suspending students who need to be suspended because they're destroying everyone else's opportunity to learn. However, we don't need more vocational programs. We have those, and some of these kids would destroy those learning environments as well.

I also have bone to pick with the assumed slur on vocational programs in the first place (assuming that they are the correct environment for kids who might be better housed in juvenile detention). Plumbers make several hundred dollars an hour, and if you've ever had a stopped up toilet on a Sunday, you don't have to be convinced that they're far more valuable to humanity than one more English major.

Anonymous wrote:Of course, if DCPS suspends students it needs to own it and report it as such. That said, I'm all for suspending students that deserve it (there is a pretty detailed handbook that outlines infractions that warrant suspension). DCPS wants to play it both ways...they want the troublemakers who make it awful for everyone out of the school (frankly, so do I) but they want to be able to point to nice data points that seem to show they are "reaching" more kids and figuring out ways to avoid suspensions and keep students in school.

No one ever wants to state the uncomfortable truth in DC that some teens are so out of control that they don't deserve to be in the regular school population. I'm a reasonable and educated person...I can understand that suspension is not a great solution because it further isolates and sends a "you're bad" message. I don't want these kids treated like losts causes...I just want there to be different solutions for them. So they are unable to cut it in the regular high school setting? OK. Let's create some sort of vocation program where they can learn a skill that they can take pride in? Create alternative school options for these hard discipline cases.

DCPS HAS SEVERAL VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS!! We don't need to 'create' anything.

Of course, if DCPS suspends students it needs to own it and report it as such. That said, I'm all for suspending students that deserve it (there is a pretty detailed handbook that outlines infractions that warrant suspension). DCPS wants to play it both ways...they want the troublemakers who make it awful for everyone out of the school (frankly, so do I) but they want to be able to point to nice data points that seem to show they are "reaching" more kids and figuring out ways to avoid suspensions and keep students in school.

No one ever wants to state the uncomfortable truth in DC that some teens are so out of control that they don't deserve to be in the regular school population. I'm a reasonable and educated person...I can understand that suspension is not a great solution because it further isolates and sends a "you're bad" message. I don't want these kids treated like losts causes...I just want there to be different solutions for them. So they are unable to cut it in the regular high school setting? OK. Let's create some sort of vocation program where they can learn a skill that they can take pride in? Create alternative school options for these hard discipline cases.

I'm not surprised. I work with much younger children and though they are not supposed to ever be suspended, it happens, along with parents being called to come and pick their children up.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/aclu-advocacy-groups-demand-school-officials-investigate-suspension-practices/2017/07/18/84eca402-6bc5-11e7-96ab-5f38140b38cc_story.html?utm_term=.dcbd2ebf219e

My feelings about this are actually mixed. I think it's not a terrible idea to remove trouble-makers from schools where they make everyone else's lives difficult. I'm concerned for both the educators and the students who are imperiled by the presence of dangerous and disruptive students. What's bothering me about this story is yet another deliberate deception on DCPS's part to hide what they're doing. DCPS has a long history of lying about anything and everything of importance: the fact that test scores are fudged by both teachers and administrators in order to receive bonuses, the fact that they can't and won't educate students with special needs, the fact that money is never accounted for to the tax-payers, really - it's harder to stop than to start when it comes to DCPS.