Dr. Laura Taylor: Assistant Superintendent Mr. Orlando Thomas: Director CHAMPAIGN UNIT 4 SCHOOL DISTRICT DISCIPLINE FROM A SOCIAL JUSTICE LENS

UNIT 4 DEMOGRAPHICS

RECOGNIZING THE DISCIPLINE GAP HIGH SCHOOL Discipline Referrals Year AA% White % Gap % 15% 65% % 18% 56% % 17% 57% % 19% 50% % 12% 63% Discipline Referrals Year AA% White % Gap % 15% 65% % 18% 56% % 17% 57% % 19% 50% % 12% 63% Suspensions Year AA% White % Gap % 15% 65% % 15% 62% % 13% 64% % 15% 56% % 13% 62% Suspensions Year AA% White % Gap % 15% 65% % 15% 62% % 13% 64% % 15% 56% % 13% 62%

SOCIAL JUSTICE Unit 4 Social Justice Definition Unit 4 understands social justice as a continual commitment to thoughtfully consider and actively challenge societal norms that privilege some and not others.

ADAPTIVE APPROACH Social Justice Seminars Topics: White Privilege, Levels of Racism, The Black Male Experience, How we Exclude, The Immigrant Experience, The LGBT Experience, Intersectionality Professional Development across the board on Culturally Responsive Education

TOOL FOR ADAPTIVE CHANGE Social Justice Framework Created during the school year by community members, teachers, students, parents, and administrators to guide decision making processes in Unit 4.

SUSPENSIONS Suspensions of five or more days – director approval  Complicated suspensions – principal consults with supervising assistant superintendent  No zero tolerance policy - all are reviewed Mitigating Letters – See example Portal-to-Portal vs. Nexus

RETHINKING OUR PRACTICE EXPULSIONS What are the reasons we remove a student from the regular school setting? What should we consider when determining length of time for removal? What process should be used at the building level for recommending expulsions?

ADJUSTED OUR PRACTICE EXPULSIONS Conversations with Building Administrative Team and Supervising Assistant Superintendent Ex – Teacher and Student in Hallway Guidance Document and Building Process Guidance Document - See example Approval from Supervising Assistant Superintendent

High School Discipline Referrals

High School Suspensions

Expulsions by Grade Level and Gender

Expulsions by Ethnicity

CONSEQUENCES + INTERVENTIONS The Discipline Equity and Advisory Committee created and proposed ACTIONS. Stakeholders: Community Teachers Students Parents Building & District Administration Shift Unit 4 Schools shifted from giving only out-of-school suspensions to a two-fold system of support; consequences plus intervention occur with suspension and are implemented by the ACTIONS program. Referral to ACTIONS Assignment to ACTIONS All suspended students except those facing expulsion are asked to attend Assignment paperwork for parents and schools Suspension records accurately reflect student participation at ACTIONS ACTIONS Process

ACTIONS Strengths Access to coursework Social Skills Instruction Support for parents Resources/strategies for teachers Positive experience for students Challenges Cost: $200,000 Increase in elementary suspensions Building teacher efficacy and capacity

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS  Champaign Police Department (School Resource Officers)  Champaign Community Coalition ( Summer Youth Employment Program)  Youth Assessment Center (District Building)

School Resource Officer Arrest Data 17

QUESTIONS