Transcript HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED - Anaheim Union High School …

ADDRESSING SUSPENSIONS
California Department of Education
Safe & Healthy Kids Program Office
Suspension Information for 2008-09
California
Orange County
• ~6,246,138 enrolled
• 502,815 enrolled
• 782,692 total
suspensions
• 27,713 total
suspensions
• Suspension Rate:
~13%
• Suspension Rate: ~6%
• 32,926 enrolled
• 5,634 total suspensions
• Suspension Rate:
~17%
Rate
Suspensions
Anaheim Union
High School
District
Katella High
School
2,739 enrolled
591 total suspensions
Suspension Rate: ~22%
Katella
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
4.6
4.6
21.5
What Students Need From
Schools to Succeed
Academic, Psychological, and Social
Support
 Programs that address essential needs
 Access to reliable transportation
 Skilled professional teachers
 Reliable and consistent discipline
protocol and procedures
 Classroom time

What is taking away from
classroom learning time?

Problem Behaviors
 According to Healthline, “problem behaviors are
defined as troublesome, risk taking, or disruptive
behavior that is more extreme than occasional
errors in judgment and requires professional
intervention to avoid legal difficulties”
 Examples:
○ Delinquency, drug use, academic failure, risky
sexual behavior, violence, property damage,
vandalism and disregard of the rights of others
Suspension

Definition:
 A disciplinary action that requires the
student to be excluded from attending
classes for a specified period of time

Intended purpose:
 Suspensions were meant for legitimately
serious offenses such as the possession of
weapons, on-campus drug use and sales,
and physical assaults on teachers, all of
which are relatively rare in occurrence.
Current Methods of Suspension

Zero Tolerance Policy

Traditional Suspension

In-School Suspension
Zero Tolerance Policy and
Traditional Suspension

Suspension is the primary zero
tolerance method used within school
settings.

Why It is an Ineffective Intervention:
 Not used for its intended purpose
 Racial and socioeconomic disproportionality
 Not addressing the behavioral problem
 Loss of Average Daily Attendance monies
Average Daily Attendance

Anaheim Union High School District
 Each school receives ~ $33.00 per day for each
student who attends school.

2008-09 Katella High School:
 591 Suspensions
 Could have saved $19,503 - $97,515
○ This estimate is calculated with the assumption that
each of the 591 suspensions with the length between
one to five days.
 Therefore, the total amount that was lost in 2008-09
due to suspensions is greater than $19,503.
In-School Suspension

Definition:
 In-school suspension programs involve “excluding the
problem student from the regular classroom while
continuing to provide some type of educational
experience”…it should “incorporate a developmental or
rehabilitative focus that assumes misbehavior is a
symptom of an underlying problem that must be identified
and resolved.”

Ineffective Model
 Punitive only

Effective Models
 Academic and Therapeutic
Student’s sense
of academic
failure /
Difficulties
succeeding
academically
Students acting
out with
disruptive /
problematic
behaviors
Suspension /
losing
classroom time
SO WHAT WORKS?
IDEA, 2004

IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act
 Enables practitioners to use RTI as an alternative method
for identifying children with learning disabilities as opposed
to the IQ-achievement discrepancy test
- 2 major criticisms:
- 1. represents a wait-to-fail model antithetical to early
intervention
- 2. assumes that the low achievement of children is due
to a learning disability, when often times it is a
consequence of inadequate instructional methods
 Enables and also provides early intervention to all children
at-risk for school failure – IDEA permits districts to use as
much as 15% of their special education monies to fund
early intervention activities, such as RTI.
Response to Intervention (RTI)
“RTI is a tiered process of implementing
evidence-based instructional strategies in
the regular education setting and frequently
measuring the student’s progress to
determine whether the strategies are
effective.”
 Research indicates that in “schools with
good discipline the emphasis was on
positive behaviors and preventative
measures, with punishment being used
only as a last resort”

3 Stages of Implementation
Tier

1:
“Universal strategies which include:
 a high quality core curriculum,
 research-based teaching strategies,
 school-wide screening to identify students who
are at-risk for difficulty,
 and the design of supports for these students
within their regular education classrooms”
3 Stages of Implementation
Tier
2:
“Involves instructional modifications and
assessments that are developed for
students who do not respond sufficiently to
Tier I strategies.
 This process includes assessing students’
skills and evaluating the instructional
environment, curriculum, and delivery of
instruction.”

 “Specific interventions are designed and delivered as
needed, often in small group context, and students’
progress is measured frequently.”
3 Stages of Implementation
 Tier


3:
“Addresses the needs of students who
continue to display an inadequate
response to instruction despite the use of
high quality strategies, evidence-based
strategies at Tier 2.”
During this phase, “instruction and
interventions are further individualized, and
students may be referred for evaluation of
eligibility for special education”

Data obtained using RTI procedures is considered a key
component of eligibility determinations for specific
learning disabilities
Why Should RTI Be
Implemented in Our Schools?
 Strategies are evidence-based and progress is monitored frequently
 Interventions are consistently being monitored and evaluated, and are
therefore shown to be more effective in addressing students’ problem
behaviors and reducing the number of students who require special
education
 Cultural backgrounds and linguistic needs of the students and their
families must be taken into consideration at all levels of intervention
 Involves personnel who have expertise in instructional consultation and
evaluation of individual progress and program effectiveness
 Any student at any time may be supported through RTI procedures
 RTI is flexible!
- It can be built upon existing frameworks within a school and can
be implemented in stages that meet students’ needs and staff
members’ capacities
RTI Programs

Commonalities among various RTI Programs:
 Administrative Support
 Systematic Data Collection
 Staff Support and Training
 Parent Support and Involvement
 Understanding of Legal Requirements (IDEA)
 Realistic Time Line
 Strong Teams
 Integration with Existing Scheduling
 Coordination of Existing Intervention Programs
Components of a Strong
RTI Team






Cross-disciplinary group
Organized according to existing structures
within the school
Core Team
Parent Involvement
Incorporation of RTI into the business and
routine of the team
Have clear systems in place for evaluating
and adjusting RTI approaches and for
providing staff development
In Addition to Effective
Interventions…

A consistent and reliable discipline
protocol is needed
 What are the procedures for suspending a
student?
 What behavior qualifies a suspension
(objective criteria)?
 Are these qualifications consistent
throughout the district? Or do they vary from
school to school, teacher to teacher?
 Continuous teacher education with regards
to classroom management?
GOAL:
TO KEEP SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS SAFE

1. Collect, analyze, and disaggregate student discipline
data on suspensions by offense, race or ethnicity, and sex
to identify possible disparities
○ Safety in Numbers – data collection model available free of
charge by the U.S. Department of Education

2. Develop objective criteria to use in suspension /
expulsion decisions

3. Set and annually review qualitative and measurable
objectives to reduce the number of suspensions and
expulsions and prevent school violence

4. Work with students, parents, and community groups to
articulate and explain school policy and practice.
Benefits of Alternatives to
Suspension





Increase in Average Daily Attendance (ADA)
Decrease in discipline referrals
Suggested alternatives do not require any
further funding from the schools
Effectively treat the underlying issues thereby
decreasing the problem behaviors and reoffenses
Higher grades and achievement on
standardized test scores due to the decrease
in loss of instructional days for students
Alternatives to Suspension: Response to Intervention