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By Tom Chorneau
Monday, September 23, 2013
Even with the deterrence posed by more than 5,000 campus police personnel, the New York public school system averages five student arrestsevery day – a cycle that steals thousands of hours of class time from a largely at-risk population and boosts their odds of dropping out and ending up in the social welfare or justice systems.
A better approach, researchers from the Alliance for Excellent Education suggest, might be to apply those resources to alternative disciplinary practices that emphasize a more positive school climate.
One example is restorative justice programs, which combine teacher training and classroom management techniques to resolve conflicts before they escalate. School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention brings together not just students and administrators but also parents and members of the surrounding community to provide support and mediation.
A growing number of districts are employing social-emotional learning programs that rely on peer-based engagement to help manage campus conduct issues.
“There is little evidence that suspensions and jail time are effective at improving student behavior or decreasing minor violations of school rules,” the report authors said. “Moreover, there is strong evidence of a positive correlation between