MCPS Needs to Make Good on a 40-Year-Old Promise
Last month, The Gazette ran a story on how the Maryland State Board of Education is changing policies on school suspensions.
In a nutshell, the state hopes that its changes result in fewer suspensions for students of color, especially African American male students, who are generally suspended at much higher rates than other groups of students.
First, this outcome—the goal of suspending fewer black males—should not be news to Montgomery County Public Schools. One can go back through the MCPS archives and find documents from the 1970s stating that suspension rates for black males must be lower (check the original Black Action Steps). In the late 1980s, MCPS hired two national renowned black psychologists—Drs. Lawrence Johnson and A. Wade Boykin—to study why MCPS suspended more black males than, say, white males.
(Click here to read about Dr. Boykin. However, good luck finding a copy of the Johnson and Boykin report, which said racism played a significant role in disparities.)
Second, why would a school district that claims it closed the achievement gap—and MCPS is all over the map making this claim—be apprehensive about closing its suspension gap?
And according to the Gazette story, when the state Board of Education came to Montgomery County last week to talk about its new policies, some in the audience “snickered” at the idea that the suspension gap could be eliminated in three years.
So, how can we close the achievement gap and not be able to close the suspension gap? But more important than that, why would MCPS knock such a goal? Snicker at such a goal? And isn’t such a goal already in MCPS’s annual performance goals anyway? Yes, it is.
Click here and see pages iv and 6. The MCPS goal is the same as the state’s goal—everyone has equal suspension rates.
In life, I have never actually believed that societies achieve equal outcomes. Life just does not work that way. I rarely look for equal outcomes, but rather, I look for outcomes that seem reasonably close or equal. I think they call that fairness. And then it seems reasonable to me that a school district that claims it closed its academic achievement gaps ought to be able to do the same for its school suspension gaps—and along the way, make good on a promise first made more than 40 years ago to the county's black community.
Bill Redmond
4:58 pm on Sunday, June 10, 2012
The goal should be equal consequences for the same offenses, not to arbitrarily reduce the consequences for one group because we think that the number is too high. Are the consequences inequitably applied? I don't know. Study reported offenses against reported consequences with a filter for race and then let's talk about whether there is inequity.
Janis
9:02 pm on Sunday, June 10, 2012
Offenses have to be reported first. Let's study if the same offense gets reported for all races.
Joseph Hawkins
7:09 am on Monday, June 11, 2012
Bill--I agree--one goal should be equal consequences for the same offenses.
Laurie Halverson
10:40 pm on Sunday, June 10, 2012
If the state BOE passes the proposed policy, there will be no expulsions, except in the case of firearms. Selling drugs to students? Attacking a student with a knife? Relentless bullying? Not eligible for expulsion. Plus, teachers would be required under a new mandate to meet with a deviant student (whether or not the student is willing) weekly at the additional expense of the taxpayer. Students would also be required to return to school on the 11th day after the deviant behavior if the school investigation is not yet complete, even if the reason for the delay in the investigation is not the fault of the school system. These are a couple of major changes that are not being highlighted by any news stories and the consequences of these changes will be costly and will hurt more than help our kids to be able to learn in a safe environment. Yes-there is a clear gap and MCPS has stepped up their game on this issue, but that's the least of the problems with the new proposed changes. Safety must come first and the proposed policy isn't safe. Please read the MCCPTA response:
http://mccpta.net/testimonies_dir/2011-2012/MCCPTA_PublicComments_COMAR_13.A.08.pdf
Joseph Hawkins
7:15 am on Monday, June 11, 2012
Laurie, I will confess that expulsions are not my expertise; however, with a few exceptions, students are never really truly expelled from the public schools (meaning they are gone forever, for good). I believe that many of the students recommended for expulsion (I'm talking about MCPS) end up either in other MCPS schools or alternative programs. It would be nice to see some data--and so if there are 1,000 expulsion hearings (I think there are actually almost that many for MCPS) what happens? How many end up parked on home school instruction, placed in an alternative program, or transferred to another MCPS school?
Janis
11:36 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
Laurie, Remind everyone why Superintendent Weast closed the Kinglsley Wilderness center that was specifically designed to educate students that were not successful in their local school. What has MCCPTA done to advocate for that facility to be re-opened? Whose fault is it that MCPS doesn't have alternative facilities to educate students that aren't fitting in their local school?
Laurie Halverson
10:33 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
Joseph, It is my understanding from talking to MCPS staff that there were 30 expulsions last year. Even when students are expelled, they can return to school after the term has expired if they follow an appeal process. However, other school systems in the state may have a different process than MCPS. Expulsions are a level of punishment, a tool in the toolbox, that works well at MCPS and the state is trying to take it away. As far as data, I agree there isn't enough available, but the MCPS Safety and Security at a Glance Report has some useful data on suspensions and serious incidents that occur in each school, which can be found on the MCPS website.
Theresa Defino
9:40 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
How about Weast's multi-pronged massive attempt to close Edison, the county's only vo-tech school? Janis, you know how Edison got saved but it still isn't being expanded or promoted the way it should. It could help so many students!
Susan Byrne
7:54 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
"students that aren't fitting in their local school" can be used to tag multiple populations. There will always be a fringe population that really needs a different placement. But MCPS defines "fitting in" or "progress" as gains in achievement scores on standardized tests. The data shows that by this definition, nearly 2/3 of our students don't fit in. Fix the educational model first, then see how much better students do in all areas, including behavior. A better educational model will be more inclusive, less narrow, more engaging, less marginalizing, more accommodating, less dismissive, more developmental and tolerant and democratic, less authoritarian and disciplinary and arrogantly dictatorial. Doing anything else is just rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic.
MocoLoco
9:00 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
Very interesting take on what would appear to be a national problem: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/therootdc/black-students-disproportionately-disciplined-in-nations-schools/2012/06/12/gJQAiXWzXV_story.html
This piece comes to different conclusions--blame the parents rather than the teachers. What are your thoughts, Mr. Hawkins? Is this a problem that schools should fix, or do parents/community leaders/faith leaders/etc. bear the burden?
Joe Thomas
9:04 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
This is just bizarre. What if the police department set a goal to arrest fewer black males for armed robbery? Has anyone dared to say that black males are more disruptive, cause more havoc, and are far less respectful in the classroom?
jag
10:39 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
"Has anyone dared to say that black males are more disruptive, cause more havoc, and are far less respectful in the classroom?"
What? Yes, that's the point. Racists have those assumptions which very much is a contributing factor to the suspension gap (the issue also manifests itself more broadly in our court system). Other contributing factors include the current framework of school being intrinsically anti-male (sitting for long periods, horseplay is frowned upon - which, of course, is a natural state for adolescent boys, etc.) and the fact that, currently, the African-American population of the county is poorer and obviously that has its own set of problems that don't stop at the school door. The point is addressing the issue, psychologically, on both sides (students and teachers/administrators) makes sense so as to help lower the number of unwarranted, reckless, and counterproductive suspensions and expulsions which disproportionally harm black males.
Joe Thomas
10:45 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
"Racists have those assumptions which very much is a contributing factor to the suspension gap"
Have you spent an hour in a public high school classroom? I doubt it.
jag
10:57 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
?? I don't know why you'd doubt it, but for the record I spent K-12 in MCPS and plan on sending my kids to MCPS too, of course.
Joe Thomas
10:48 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
I am talking about as a teacher. Unless you have tried to maintain order in a public school classroom you have no clue about why the suspension rates are they way they are.
jnrentz1
8:43 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Mr. Hawkins: Who are "students of color?"
Joseph Hawkins
9:55 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Who are "students of color?" Generally, when I use the description, I'm specifically referring to black (or African American) and Latino students. Back in the day, and I'm old enough to have lived through that time period, I was labeled "colored." I actually never had a problem with the description because my skin had color. I still like using the description.
The Big Egg
10:15 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Interesting--I hadn't ever considered "colored" to include Latino. I thought colored was another term for black. Doesn't the use of "colored" for non-white suggest that white is the normal, or baseline, race, and others are a departure from it? After all, white is a color too, but you're not including white people in your "colored" category. Since, in terms of evolution, blacks came first, we should consider black to be the baseline and whites to be "colored."