EDL 642

Elizabeth Franklin
Independent Inquiry Research Paper
March 26, 2017

Alternatives to Suspensions

As I am currently working as assistant principal of Winship Middle

School in Eureka CA, I chose to focus on an Issue I deal with on a daily

basis. One of my primary roles as assistant principal is to manage

student discipline and I often deliberate on how best to discipline

students in order to reduce problem behaviors. Our current practices

of both classroom suspension as well as school suspensions do not

seem to be instrumental in stopping problem behavior as many of the

same students are suspended from class and/or school fairly regularly.

In the following research paper I will be discussing the history of

suspensions, the effect exclusionary practices have on improving

behavior and the elements of alternative programs that have proven to

help students gain skills needed to succeed socially in schools. Lastly,

I have proposed a program called WIC or Winship Intervention Center

that can and should be implemented at Winship School as a means to

reduce both classroom and school suspensions.

Suspensions are educational practices in which students are

removed from the regular teaching environment. Beginning in the

1980s, fear of increased violence in schools lead to school districts

throughout the country to promote zero-tolerance policies, calling for

expulsion for guns and all weapons, drugs, and gang-related activities,

and to mandate increased suspensions and expulsions for less serious

offences, suck as school disruption, smoking, and dress code

violation. (Skiba and Losen 2015). Direct results of these policies

lead to an increase of disciplinary removal for historically

disadvantaged groups. African Americans (especially males), Latinos,

students with disabilities and even lesbian, gay, bisexual and

transgender students are being suspended and expelled at an alarming

higher rate then the traditional white student.

While the use of exclusionary practices like suspensions has

increased across the nation, there has been little evidence that these

practices actually stop antisocial behavior. In an Exceptional Children

journal article published in 2000, Skiba and Peterson report, Disorder

and violence in Americas Schools do not appear to have been

appreciably diminished, despite 4 years of national policy explicitly

encouraging tougher responses. Furthermore, it has been found that

suspensions do not contribute to school safety or improving school

climate. Schools with high rates of suspensions have lower ratings of

school safety from students and have significantly poorer school

climate, especially for students of color (Skiba and Losen 2015).

Suspensions have been shown to be unsuccessful especially for

students who come from threatening home and community conditions,

including but not limited to neglect, poverty, abuse and drug addiction.

It is not hard to see how exposure to these risk factors could leave a

child with a very different understanding of how the world works.

(Skiba and Peterson 2003). It is no wonder that these students who

have never been modeled how to behave within societal parameters,

often continue to be suspended multiple times throughout a school

year. Suspension is merely exclusion and does not provide students

practice and training in the social curriculum.

A number of alternative strategies to exclusionary practices have

been implemented in schools over the past decade. Successful

alternative to suspension programs share a number of common

elements. Skiba and Peterson in their article titled, from Reaction to

Prevention (2015) claim successful suspension alternative strategies

address three important components of school climate and school

discipline: (1) relationship building through approaches such as

restorative justice; (2) social emotional learning approaches that

improve students ability to understand social interactions and regulate

their emotions; and (3) structural interventions, such as PBIS or

changing disciplinary codes of conduct. What has become very clear

in researching the topic of alternatives to suspension is that student

discipline is only effective at changing behavior when students have

the opportunity to engage, practice and learn social skills.

In order to reduce the number of suspension from both school

and classrooms at Winship middle school as well as provide students

with social skills coaching, I have developed a proposal for the Winship

Intervention Center (WIC). The following pages outline the rational,

goal, resources needed and overall responsibilities of both student and

intervention center coordinator for the successful implementation of

this program.

REFERENCES
Skiba, Russell J., and Daniel J. Losen. "From Reaction to Prevention:
Turning the Page on School Discipline ." American Educator (Winter
2015-2016): 4 . Library Research. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Skiba, Russ, and Reece Peterson. "Teaching the Social Curriculum:

School Discipline as Instruction." Preventing School Failure 47.2 (Winter
2003): 66-73. Research Library. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Skiba, Russell, and Reece Peterson. "School Discipline at a Crossroads:

From Zero Tolerance to Early Response." Exceptional Children 66.3
(Spring 2000): 335-46. Research Library. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
 Winship Intervention Center Proposal
Problem:
A number of antisocial behaviors are occurring on a regular basis at
Winship. These behaviors are disrupting the learning environment and
taking away valuable class time for students who are willing to abide
by school rules and learn. For very serious behaviors (fighting,
weapons, and contraband) we have been sending students home for
suspensions. Furthermore, when students repeatedly disrupt the
learning environment, teachers have been sending students to the
office for classroom suspensions. Both of these intervention models
have not shown to be effective as many students who get suspended
reenter the classroom and exhibit the same types of behaviors.

Proposed Solution:
Create a Winship Intervention Center (WIC) for students exhibiting tier
three behaviors. The Center will provide an environment suitable for
students requiring removal from the classroom, as it will be free of
distractions. Furthermore, students will receive skill coaching and will
have to complete a Student Guided FBA to identify the function of the
behavior that removed them from the classroom. The WIC will be
used for both in-school suspensions and classroom suspensions.
Ideally the person chosen to be the WIC coordinator will have the
ability to build positive relationships with students.

Goal:
The Winship Intervention center will serve two primary goals. It will
provide a quiet distraction free supportive and instructional
environment for student serving In School Reteach (ISR) and will also
provide an Instructional Suspension Learning Alternative (ISLA) for
students who are sent out of the classroom by teachers. Ideally, it will
give students who normally would be sent to the office or home for
behaviors a place to complete class work, complete a student guided
functional behavior analysis, receive coaching on specific school rules
as well as complete a reconnection card that specifically apologizes for
behavior to classroom teacher.

Resources and Possible Costs:

Item: Quantity: Cost:
A Room dedicated to being our 1 0
Intervention Center. F-7 in now currently
used for rule school.
Partitions or Study Cubical Desks 8 Does district
have the
Small circular table for meeting and four 1 / 4 supplies or
chairs will we need
to purchase?
Monitor desk 1

Winship Intervention Center Coordinator 1 $31,000.00

We can use a monitor already employed plus
(Michelle) or hire a monitor specifically for benefits(base
this position d on $15.00/h
for 52 weeks)

Winship Intervention Center Coordinator

Responsibilities:
1. Coordinating assignments and services for students in WIC with
administrators, teachers and staff.
2. Collect completed assignments and ensure they are given to
appropriate classroom teachers each day.
3. Provide detailed student orientation for the purpose of clearly
communicating the WIC guidelines, consequences for non-
compliance and establishing clear expectations
4. Provide returning students with a review/re-teach of these rules.
5. Monitor Students throughout the day and complete a monitoring
sheet for each student in the intervention center.
6. Provide academic support on classroom assignments
7. For in-class suspensions, work with students on a reentry plan
with rehearsal (reconnection card)
8. Provide transition support and assist with reconnection
conversation with teacher who sent referral.

Assistant Principal Role and Responsibilities

1. Notify teacher of students who will serve an in school suspension
so they can send work for the student to accomplish;
2. Request a Parent Conference (if possible) and meet with student
to set a behavior contract.
3. Reteach (skill coaching).
4. Review Student Guided FBA.
5. Refer students to speak with counseling services if needed.

Procedures and Guidelines

INSTRUCTIONAL SUSPENSION LEARNING ALTERNATIVE
GUIDLINES
Teachers who have tried previous intervention techniques may send
students to the WIC with a referral (BTF) in hand and classroom work to
accomplish. The WIC coordinator will work with the student during the
period on:
1. Student Guided FBA to identify why the behavior happened
2. Skill coaching on appropriate behaviors based on referral
3. Academic support on classroom assignments
4. Reentry plan with rehearsal (reconnection card)
5. Transition support with a reconnection conversation with
the referring teacher***
***This is an import part of the ISLA process where the student has a
reconnection conversation with the teacher who referred them. The
student must display sincerity in their apology. Teachers role is to
allow student to rejoin class without a further conversation about the
Issue.

IN-SCHOOL RETEACH SUCCESS GUIDELINES

Only an administrator will assign a student to Winship Intervention
Center for an In School Reteach (ISR). There will be no early release
allowed to those assigned ISR. Staff members will be notified in a
timely manner that a student has been assigned to ISR. Staff members
should then gather any necessary class assignments and send them to
the APs office or to the WIC coordinator if they know ahead of time
that is student will be in ISR. If a student is assigned to ISR during the
day, staff members will be notified in a timely manner and will gather
class assignments when time allows. Assignments should be sent
directly to the ISR room and placed in the bin by the door.

1. All students who have ISR will report to the Winship Intervention
Center 8:30 AM.
2. All students will have assigned seating and will keep the area
clean and graffiti-free. Defacing cubicles, desks and/or walls will
not be tolerated.
3. A student who is tardy, absent or does not complete the daily
work for any reason will be assigned additional time in WIC.
4. Students placed in WIC will be excluded from participation in all
extra-curricular activities, including assemblies, sports
practices/games or any other activity after school. This will
continue until the suspension period is completed.
5. Medication of any kind will be administered by the school nurse
in the WIC.
6. Upon arrival to WIC the first time, students will receive a detailed
student orientation for the purpose of clearly communicating the
ISR guidelines, consequences for non-compliance and
establishing clear expectations while assigned to ISR. Returning
students will be given a review/re-teach of these rules.
7.
Breakfast:
Students who have not gotten breakfast before break will have it
delivered during break from the cafeteria to WIC and will eat at their
assigned desk at that time. They will not be allowed to visit or have
any physical contact during breakfast.

Lunch:
Students who do not bring a bag lunch from home will have lunch
delivered from the cafeteria to WIC. Students will eat lunch at their
desk during a 30-minute lunch break. They will not be allowed to visit
or have any physical contact during lunch.

During the Day:

 2. Students will stay on task at all times and follow the In-School
Suspension Schedule/Guidelines. The student is expected to
remain seated, quiet, awake and working on assignments
throughout the day. Sleeping is prohibited. No physical contact of
any kind between students. No magazines, drawing or coloring
allowed unless approved by the WIC coordinator or it is
necessary to complete an assignment.
3. The student is expected to complete each days assignments for
every class according to directions given. The WIC coordinator
will check that work is completed accurately and acceptably. No
credit will be given for incomplete work. The student will be
required to have a heading on each assignment that includes
name, date, teachers name, subject name and page/problem
#s. Teachers who assign this work will be responsible for grading
it.
4. The student will be required to write a one-page summary and/or
complete a Think Sheet on why he/she was Issued ISR and
include a positive resolution for the behavior. The summary/Think
Sheet should also include what can be done in the future to
change the behavior. A copy of this will be placed in the
students folder and will also be sent home to the
parent/guardian.
5. The student will be allowed two scheduled restroom breaks.
6. No food or drinks allowed (except bottled water) unless it is
during the scheduled snack/lunch break.
7. The student must serve all assigned days in the WIC in order to
qualify for release and return to regular classes.
8. Respect to others must be shown at all times. No foul language,
disruptive behavior or physical contact between students at any
time.
9. Computer games will not be permitted in WIC. Students who
should have an assignment that requires the use of the computer
will obey the policies set forth in the student Acceptable Use
Policy set forth by the District.
10. Dismissal from the WIC when the last bell rings at the
conclusion of the school day and all regular school rules apply as
set forth in the Discipline Guidelines outlined in the student
handbook

I have read and understand these guidelines.

__________________________________________
__ __________________________________________
Student Name, Signature and Date
__
Administrator Name, Signature Date
 Reconnection
Card

Dear:___________________________________________
Date:_____________________

I am sorry for
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________
While in the office / Winship Intervention Center I learned
______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
___
Therefore, I will work on
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________
Here is how Im going to try and prevent problem from happening again:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________
In order for me to be successful, here is the support I need from you:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
___

I appreciate the opportunity to correct my behavior and return to class.

Thank you, ______________________________________________
Student Guided FBA

Name:_________________________________ Date:________________________

1. What was the situation and what happened?

2. Why did you do what you did? What did it accomplish?

3. How did it make you feel?

4. How do you think it made others specifically feel?

5. What wouldve been a better response?

6. What do we(the school/teacher/administrator) need to do to fix/repair
the current situation?

7. What can you do next time this situation happens?

8. What help do you need from us?