Charter Schools and Positive Discipline
Here is a story, from the New York Daily News, about the discipline practices at a group of charter schools in New York that are operated by Success Academy. The Success Academy schools have extraordinarily high suspension rates and extraordinarily high test scores.
This would appear to provide evidence that suspensions improve education rather than worsen it. That's contrary to the story told by LEV about the detrimental effect of suspensions and expulsions.
This would appear to provide evidence that suspensions improve education rather than worsen it. That's contrary to the story told by LEV about the detrimental effect of suspensions and expulsions.
Comments
LEV is not the only one pointing out the ineffectiveness of expulsions and suspensions - they're just late to the party. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been talking about the school to prison pipeline for decades.
"Disciplinary actions spiked. Brianna tells of students being cuffed by police and pulled from classrooms, of classes dwindling and incarceration rising. Today, the Recovery School District boasts an out-of-school suspension rate that's four times the national average."
Four times the national average and consider that New Orleans public schools are largely minority.
The Washington Post reported that in 2012, two KIPP schools had the highest expulsion rates in D.C. - 5% of their students. At KIPP College Prep, 59% of students missed one or more days of school because of a discipline issue.
Some charters - in places like Baltimore and Miami - didn't have higher suspension rates in 2009-2010 but in San Diego, the rate was 8%. That's double what the public schools had. In Newark, it's 10% versus 3%. Chicago, LA and Philadelphia all had higher expulsion rates.
And naturally those who are expelled end up back in the regular public schools.
I don't agree with OSC and LEV on a lot of things. They are right about positive discipline, but they are not right about how to get it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHg_-W6oHwA
I appreciate wanting the students to stand up and be quiet in line but this seems like overkill to me. I have to wonder what the students are thinking. The thing is the teacher has such a monotone in his voice whether he is directing them what to do or encouraging them to do what he says in order to get into college.
Next time I'll ring a bell so everyone will know.
I was hoping to point out the self-contradictory nature of Education Reform positions - supporting high-discipline schools which are charters while decrying high discipline schools which are traditional public schools.