District Administration - January 2010 - (Page 28)

Discipline Gets the Boot depended in large part on augmenting the role of classroom teachers as first responders to disciplinary situations. The teachers’ role is illustrated in the new policy through a six-level “discipline pyramid” that involves teachers with students, parents, school nurses and guidance counselors in dealing with student behavior. “There’s an emphasis on doing things at the bottom of the pyramid that wasn’t there before,” says Karstaedt. “We look at it from the perspective that classroom management is the responsibility of the teachers,” says Jeannie Peppel, the principal of JFK High School in Denver. “It’s taken a few years for them to realize that they could control their classrooms, and we’ve given those who were making a lot of referrals ways to better handle discipline.” JFK’s assistant principal, Doug Jackfert, who helped develop the new district policy, says he asked teachers why they were sending students out of the classroom to the principal’s office for infractions ranging from disrespectful behavior toward the teacher and verbal altercations with other students to excessive tardiness and minor damage to school property. He worked with them to deal with the kids in class. “We also did a lot of professional development on setting expectations about appropriate behaviors with students from the beginning of the year,” he says. Those teachers now stress respect for students, each other and school property, and they deal with conflicts in ways that don’t escalate the problem, Jackfert explains. “If a kid comes into class and starts something with another student, right away the teacher will get them to stop arguing and send us a heads-up in the office,” he says. “We’ll ask what was going on and if that behavior has been going on for a long time. We work together to head off a physical fight.” The number of referrals to the principal has dropped from 1,659 in 2007-2008 to 1,252 in 2008-2009, Jackfert notes, and out-of-school suspensions dropped from 326 to 174 in the same period. The new approach has resonated with 28 January 2010 Students at North Lawndale College Prep in Chicago join a march last spring appealing for peace between black and Hispanic residents of their surrounding neighborhood. North Lawndale Prep’s Commitment to Peace EvEry school DAy, 430 high school stuDEnts trAvEl from All ovEr chicAgo to the city’s rough West side and to north lawndale college Prep charter high school, where they enter without passing through metal detectors. “that’s something that the founders were adamant about,” says nicole howard, the principal of this 12-year-old charter school, which requires student uniforms. “they thought it was the wrong way to start the school day, with adults going through students’ pockets and backpacks.” instead, the students encounter a profusion of peace symbols on the wall, as well as an oversized “Days of Peace” chart—similar to those in factories that state the number of days without an injury. “Every day the school is free of major altercations, a peace symbol gets added,” howard explains. rewards for achieving 150 consecutive days of peace range from dress-down days to a block party for the entire school. “here peace is taught, monitored and evaluated,” howard continues. During daily homeroom, students receive mini-lessons on peace and mediation skills. “What happens if you get into a tiff? how do you avoid a fight? What resources can you draw on?” says howard, recounting some of the questions these mini-lessons address. she adds that students take it upon themselves to make a difference. “if they see an argument starting, they’ll swoop in and say, ‘We don’t want to lose our Days of Peace. What are you guys arguing about? What can we do to help?’” Because north lawndale is a charter school, administrators can decide how to deploy its funds, and they have chosen an increased force of counselors over intensive security details. freshmen are assigned a counselor on day one and stay connected until six months after graduation. last summer, 10 rising seniors attended an intensive, weeklong seminar on the nonviolent approach of martin luther King and emerged as lawndale’s first group of Peace Warriors. newly minted Peace Warrior latrell hassell says he learned tools to help solve conflicts among students. “i ask them about the history of the conflict,” hassell says. “i think it works because it’s a student coming to another student,” adds fellow Peace Warrior Darlissa scott. “there’s a form of understanding. it’s more like companionship.” howard concludes that the college prep school is defying the odds. “it is possible to be on the West side of chicago and be in a school that has a 99 percent poverty rate among its students,” he says, “and still be at peace for most of the school year.” Principal Veltzé. Now in her fourth year at the middle school, she recalls school life before the coordinator arrived two and a half years ago. “Restorative Justice has great payoff for detrimental behaviors like horseplay and fighting,” Veltzé says, explaining that having students make amends for their behavior gives teachers and administrators more options. “In the old days, every fight meant a suspension.” While RJ may be labor intensive, Karstaedt and other advocates of alternative discipline point out that school personnel from teachers to deans to prinDistrict Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2010

District Administration - January 2010
Table of Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Health Update
Curriculum Update
District Profile
The Feud Over Food
Discipline Gets the Boot
Cutting Technology Costs with Refurbished Computers
Will Pensions Bankrupt Your District?
Tech Disruptions
Crisis Response
Supervisor’s Opinion
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - January 2010