Georgene Fountain Montgomery County Public Schools: ES MUSIC EDUCATOR Baltimore City Community College- English Tuskegee University- Sociology Tuskegee University- Special Ed Indiana University School of Music- Bloomington NYU MAY 22, 2015

A. Make practical sense of disparities in suspensions B. Student engagement alternatives to suspension C. Improve education organizations NYU MAY 22, 2015

Make practical sense of disproportionate suspensions NYU MAY 22, 2015

Seminal work on MASS INCARCERATION May 22, 2015 NYU

MSEA: Maryland State Department of Education: Feb 2012 Report on Disparities in Out of School Suspensions & In-school Arrests NYU MAY 22, 2015

Disproportionally higher suspension rates: Male students of color & disabled students NYU MAY 22, 2015

Disproportionally higher in-school arrest rates: Male students of color & disabled students NYU MAY 22, 2015

Go Michelle Alexander!

“What is your organization doing about the mass incarceration of 2.3 million Americans?” -Michelle Alexander NYU MAY 22, 2015

5 minute ACTIVITY: What are some causal factors for disparities in suspensions? What inspires you to stop the disparities? NYU MAY 22, 2015 M

“an act more as a perpetuator of racial order than an objective arbiter of infraction and penalty.” NYU MAY 22, 2015 M

“adult perceptions of a student’s appearance, neighborhood, family, social background” NYU MAY 22, 2015 M

Academic difficulties Truancy Acting out Mental Health Consequences Dropping Out Pushed Out Prison NYU MAY 22, 2015

“Instead of schools being a pipeline to opportunity, schools are feeding our prisons.” -Michelle Alexander Rethinking Schools, Vol. 26, No. 22, NYU MAY 22, 2015

Marian Wright Edelman NYU: MAY 22, 2015

Teachers, reduce disparities in school discipline… NOW! NYU MAY 22, 2015

2. STUDENT ENGAGEMENT: Decrease discipline programs NYU MAY 22, 2015

The race and social background of the doer was more important than the incident NYU MAY 22, 2015

Implement Restorative Practices NYU MAY 22, 2015

“ Restorative Practices: Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools A Guide for Educators” NYU: MAY 22, 2015

National Opportunity to Learn Campaign Advancement Project AFT NEA NEA / AFT Practitioners Researchers NYU: MAY 22, 2015

Defines restorative practice Why it fosters healthy school relationships How it can be a useful Models, steps for school-wide implementation Self-reflection for practitioners NYU: MAY 2015

San Francisco Unified School District: Relationships are central to building community Ensure everyone is valued, everyone is heard Emphasizing doing things “with,” not “to” or “for” NYU: MAY 22, 2015

Focus on the harm done rather than only rule-breaking Engage in collaborative problem solving Enhance responsibility and empower change and growth NYU: MAY 22, 2015

Least formal tool: A ffective statements NYU: MAY 22, 2015

DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, CASTLE ROCK, CO: "Affective" teacher communicates how the student's behavior makes them feel. NYU: MAY 22, 2015

For example: "I feel frustrated when people are talking when I am trying to teach. I get distracted and lose my train of thought. It makes me feel like the time I spent preparing was wasted and is not appreciated.“ NYU: MAY 22, 2015

Not intended to shame, vent personal stressors, but to develop empathy, establish boundaries and provide authentic observation.” NYU: MAY 22, 2015

Journey Within NYU: MAY 22, 2015

U se affective questions NYU: MAY 22, 2015

For the person causing the incident: 1. What happened? 2. What were you thinking of at the time? NYU MAY 22, 2015

3. What have you thought about since? 4. Who has been affected by what you have done? In what why? 5. What do you need to do to make things right? NYU MAY 22, 2015

For the person affected by the incident: 1. What did you think when you realized what had happened? 2. What impact has the incident had on you and others? NYU MAY 22, 2015

3. What has been the hardest thing for you? 4. What do you think needs to happen to make things right? NYU MAY 22, 2015

5 minute ACTIVITY: Brainstorm then decide on a fictitious incident/ scenario where you would use Restorative Questions NYU MAY 22, 2015

C. Improve education organizations NYU MAY 22, 2015

NEA & School to Prison Pipeline NYU MAY 22, 2015

NEA ADVOCACY: Executive Legislative Branches NYU May 22, 2015

NEA partners with… NAACP Southern Law Poverty Center Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law NYU MAY 22

AFT COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS ADVANCEMENT PROJECT NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN CAMPAIGN

Human Rights Educators of the USA Facing History and Ourselves Not in Our Town, Not in Our Schools NYU MAY 22, 2015

NEA 2013 New Business Item 22 NYU MAY 22, 2015

“NEA shall disseminate to state and local affiliates best practices and school discipline policy recommendations to eradicate what is metaphorically called the “school-to-prison-pipeline”… NYU MAY 22, 2015

“…whereby school districts issue out- of-school suspensions for non-violent and non-dangerous conduct, not solely to, but in particularly higher numbers to, male students of color.” -Georgene Fountain (MD) author -Julius Thomas (CA) seconded NYU MAY 22, 2015

NEA 2014: discipline policy change NYU MAY 22, 2015

RESOLUTIONS STATEMENT ON DISCIPLINE: B-71 “The association believes that policies promoting educational processes which emphasize prevention, effective interventions, and rehabilitation…” NYU MAY 22, 2015

2014 RESOLUTIONS: DISCIPLINE B-71 “…will decrease the use of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, in-school arrests, and the practice that is commonly called the “school-to-prison pipeline” that can lead to future incarcerations.” NYU MAY 22, 2015

5 minute activity: What you can do to increase awareness within your organizations? NYU MAY 22, 2015

Every male of color will be in prison, on parole or on probation at some point in their life if mass incarceration does not stop. -Sentencing Project NYU MAY 22, 2015

“Are ya’ through?!” NYU: MAY 22, 2015

Thank You! Working for a better world NYU: MAY 22, 2015