1. Leading for Equity Student Discipline
Photo of children
Student Discipline

2. Outcomes As a result of the session, participants will be able to…
Identify next steps to ensure that equity is the driving factor in your school’s discipline work.
Identify alternative practices that reconnect students to learning.
Articulate the steps used by Montgomery County Public Schools to reduce the suspension gap.

3. “Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our “Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our society—the place where all children could have access to educational opportunities to make something of themselves in adulthood.” - Janet Napolitano

4. “We simply must do better. And we CAN do better
“We simply must do better. And we CAN do better. But we must accept that the strategies we have used up to this point—while effective—will not get us to the top of the mountain.”
“...despite our best efforts we have not been able to reach some
children, and many of them are students of color, students with special needs,
students who are learning English, or students who are poor.”
“We must think differently about our efforts to narrow
the opportunity and achievement gaps for our system,
while preparing our students to thrive in the future.”
Equality

5. “Therefore, we will hold high expectations for all students and staff; distribute resources as necessary to provide extra supports and interventions so all students can achieve; identify and eliminate any institutional barriers to students’ success; and ensure that equitable practices are used in all classrooms and workplaces”
“MCPS is committed to educating our students so that academic success is not predictable by race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, language proficiency, or disability. We will continue to strive until the achievement gap has been eliminated for all groups.”
Equity

6. In order to ensure equitable learning opportunities for every child in every classroom, we must avoid disproportionately disciplining students of color, and always use discipline to reconnect students to the benefits of learning.
Pedro Noguera asks educators to analyze whether current disciplinary practices are excluding or humiliating students, rather than reconnecting students to learning opportunities.

7. From May 2011 OSA research brief, "Grade 9 Indicators Influencing High School Graduation and College Readiness in MCPS High Schools":
A student suspension during grade 9 results in a 29% decrease in that student's odds of graduating on time.

8. Three-Pronged Approach to Suspension Reduction and Student Discipline Work
Line up
Transparent Data for Benchmarking
Coaching Conversations
Equity Focus with Professional Learning

9. Total # Suspension Groups 2012- 2013 2263 1175 611 474 2013- 2014 1432
Total #
Suspension Groups
African American
Latino
Special Education
2012-
2013
2263
1175
611
474
2013-
2014
1432
769
367
348
Difference
-831
-406
-244
-126

10. Rate of Suspensions per 100 Students
Rate of Suspensions per 100 Students
Asian Am
African Am
White
Hispanic
Special Education
2012
1.3
12.1
2.4
5.8
12.3
2014
0.8
7.6
3.2
6.9

11. Northwood High School Referral Data 2013-2014
Number of Referrals
Semester
Semester 2-227
758 (684)
Male
573
Female
184
Hispanic
356
White 66
African American
321
Asian 13
9th grade (includes repeaters)
384
10th grade (includes repeaters)
218
11th grade (includes repeaters) 69
12th grade 87
Common Infractions
Abusive Language 83
Defiance
200
Fighting 33
Skipping class/ Truancy
157
Disruption
129
Admin Action
Conference with the student
665
Detention
173
Parent Contact
215
Suspensions (referral) 16

12. Northwood High School Referral Data 2013-2014 Semester 2
Number of Referrals
Semester
Semester 2-227
Overall
758 (684)
Male
203
Female 74
Hispanic
127
White 18
African American
123
Asian 8
9th grade (includes repeaters)
158
10th grade (includes repeaters) 75
11th grade (includes repeaters) 24
12th grade 20
Common Infractions
Abusive Language 34
Defiance 76
Fighting 10
Skipping class/ Truancy 70
Disruption 49
Other 20

13. Guiding Principles
Climate and Prevention: Fostering a positive environment will help engage ALL students in learning by preventing misbehavior and intervening effectively with struggling, at-risk students.
Clear, appropriate, consistent expectations/consequences: Establishing and communicating clear and appropriate expectations for student performance and student behavior
Equity and continuous improvement: Building staff’s capacity to be reflective learners to ensure that fairness and equity will promote achievement for ALL students.

14. Climate and Prevention
Celebrating positive behavior & achievement
Wellness Center Outreach programs
Pre-EMT for early interventions
Regular meetings with ALT 1 students
QTIP (Quit Taking it Personally) – Staff training on de-escalation strategies learned from ED, starting first with security and eventually being rolled out to the remainder of staff.

15. Student/Teacher Relationships: Building Positive Classroom Environments
Professional Support Staff: March 19, 2013
Q-TIP
Quit Taking It Personally (Q-TIP) is a tool to help reduce the adrenaline rush that often causes poor decision-making when people find themselves in stressful situations.
Uses:
Classrooms
Bedrooms
Boardrooms
Squad rooms
Conference rooms
Court rooms

16. Expectations & Consequences: Clear, Appropriate, & Consistent
School focus supports instructional focus of student engagement
Promoting community through Restorative Practices
Dean of Students first point of contact
Removal from classroom as a last resort

17. Equity & Continuous Improvement
Weekly Data Review in ILT meetings
Semester summaries
Special team study of restorative practices
Continuous feedback loop (surveys and focus groups)

18. Anticipated Results
Improving students’ sense of self-efficacy by empowering them to be self-advocates and contributing members of the school community.
Developing students’ social emotional learning by building self-awareness and self-management skills that will enable students to achieve in school and life.
Developing and improving critical thinking by engaging students in solutions to real-life problems.
Offering and supporting Youth-Adult Partnerships that engender mutual respect as both work toward common goals.
Leading by recognizing the student voice and the power in including students in both the decision-making and problem-solving.

19. Code of Conduct in :
Matrix Approach with Expectation of Progressive Responses.
Flexibility with Range and Choices.
An Expanded “Basket” of Potential Consequences.

20. What are you doing in your school or what will you do to create a culture where disciplinary practices reconnect students to learning?

21. As leaders for equity, our job is to lead the conversation, address the beliefs, and examine our practice, so we can provide every child with the education they deserve.
Kids