Howard school officials offered County Council members a glimpse into the suspension rates among student groups, but the information wasn?t broken down into why students were suspended.
The data were presented Wednesday at a joint meeting of council members and school officials at the request of Councilman Calvin Ball, D-District 2, who said he wanted to see how various student groups were performing.
He said additional statistics would have provided a more insightful picture.
“It appears the school system recognizes some of its challenges but has some plans in progress to address those challenges,” he said.
“Overall, we?ve got an exemplary school system, and probably one of the best in the country. I just want to be sure we?re excellent in all student groups. For me, being excellent is being excellent for everybody.”
Suspensions among Howard County students are highest among black students and students in special education classes and low-income families, but only 4 percent of all students were suspended last year, the lowest in the state, school officials said.
“We?re pleased with the overall direction our [overall rate of] suspensions,” said Pamela Blackwell, the school system?s director of student services.
The data were specifically for out-of-school suspensions, lasting more than 10 days, said school system spokeswoman Patti Caplan.
Although the data were divided into student groups, they were not broken down into the eight major categories of suspensions, which the state records.
These categories are attendance; dangerous substances; weapons, attacks, threats and fighting; arson, fire, and explosions; sex offenses; disrespect, insubordination, and disruption and other incidents like cheating.
One of the approaches the school system is using to curb suspensions is the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program, a team-based state initiative to encourage schools to move toward schoolwide behavior systems, Blackwell said.
Students learn about positive values, such as respect, responsibility and readiness, and learn how to apply them in everyday settings, such as in the hallways at school.
“They get rewarded for being caught being good,” Blackwell said, referring to raffles with gift card and clothing giveaways, pizza parties, extra recess and hat and flip-flop days, among other incentives.
Another response is the school system?s anti-bullying program, called the Students for Safe Schools campaign formed in 2005. Bullying falls under the attacks, threats and fighting suspension category.
The campaign encourages students to be leaders in forming a safe and respectful school environment where bullying behaviors are not tolerated, school officials said.
“It?s not just punishment that?s going to change behavior, you?re going to have to intervene,” Blackwell said.
She said bullying needs to be handled by recognizing and addressing three dynamics:
– Children who display bullying behavior need intervention.
– Victims of bullying need support.
– Bystanders need to be empowered to take a stand.
Everyone in the school system is involved from students to even bus drivers. Each summer before school starts, bus drivers go through workshops on bullying and reporting techniques.
