Author: Psychiatry

Alternatives to Out-of-School Suspension

In This Issue:
Alternatives to Out-of-School Suspension
Op-Ed: Too Many Suspensions Maryland Public Schools Need to Turn to Alternative Punishments

References
Sander, D. (2001). A caring alternative to suspension. The Education Digest, 66(7), 51-54.
American Academy of Pediatrics (2003). Out-of-school suspension and expulsion. Pediatrics, 112(5), 1206-1208.
Atkins M.S. et al. (2002). Suspensions and dententions in an urban, low-income school: punishment or reward?. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(4), 361-371.
McNeely, C.A., Nonnemaker, J.M., & Blum, R.W. (2002). Journal of School Health, 72(4), 138-146.
Bruns, E.J., Moore, E., Stephan, S.H., Pruitt, D., & Weist, M.D. (2005). The impact of school mental health services on out-of-school suspension rates. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(2), 23-30.

The use of out-of-school suspension has been a greatly debated issue over the past decade. Although it can serve as a way to provide schools with a safe environment, many suspensions are the result of minor offenses which could be handled using other strategies besides out-of-school suspension. Some students even find it rewarding to be sent out of school. Several studies have shown that out-of-school suspension can do more harm than good.
A study found that students in schools that administered suspension for relatively minor violations felt less connected to their schools. Students in such schools also reported feeling less safe in school. Students who feel cared for by people in their school and feel like a part of the school are less likely to in engage in violence, drug use or initiate in sexual activity at an early age. These students also tend to report better emotional wellbeing.
Alternatives to suspension are often challenging to implement but can prove beneficial to students and teachers in the long run. Such interventions can also improve school climate. Below are just a few ways to promote positive behavior change in students, without suspension.
Mental Health Resources. Having a full-time expanded school mental health clinician and school-employed mental health professionals . In addition to these mental health staff, there are several other mental health resources that are available in the community (www.schoolmentalhealth.org, Baltimore City Community Resource Guide). The key to this service making a difference is to continually refer students who are at risk for out of school suspension. One study found that more than 95% of referred students who saw a clinician four or more times did not receive any long-term suspensions.
PBIS. Punishments are often not effective without rewards. It is important to implement strategies in which students are rewarded for positive behavior such as being cooperative or staying on task. Rewarding students appropriately and creating positive environments can be challenging. To make PBIS successful, it is necessary for teachers, administrators, and mental health staff to work closely with one another to ensure that they are reinforcing the same rules and expectations. These unified efforts and a commitment to follow-through with rewards is necessary for success.
In-school suspension can be an effective alternative to out of school suspension. A good program gives students the opportunity to learn how to make positive changes in their behavior and addresses the behaviors and attitudes which cause students to be placed there in the first place. Academic success and self-esteem building should also play a major role. By the time students return to their regular classes, they will have learned the skills they need to succeed in school and in the community.
Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution. Peer mediation and conflict resolution programs can be a successful strategy for helping to prevent student conflicts from escalating into more serious problems that may lead to injuries and suspensions. These programs help students to gain necessary conflict resolution skills and can create a more positive and safer school environment

Op-Ed: Too Many Suspensions Maryland Public Schools Need to Turn to Alternative Punishments
By Jane Sundius
The following is an original opinion piece written by the director of the Education and Youth Development Program at the Open Society Institute– Baltimore. It was published in the February 11, 2007 edition of the Washington Post

The Maryland State Department of Education recently posted its annual report on school suspensions on its Web site. There was no public announcement. In fact, you really have to hunt for it. Perhaps that's because the 20-page report shows that Maryland continues to rely excessively on a seriously flawed form of punishment that hurts students and does little to improve school climate.
Maryland public schools doled out 127,002 suspensions to 72,609 students in the 2005–06 school year. That's nearly 9 percent of all students, which would be comparable to suspending almost all students in Anne Arundel County public schools. This is not a one-year blip. Maryland schools have been suspending a similar percentage of students for a decade.
This reflects our entrenched national "zero tolerance" disciplinary policies that are a misguided reaction to violent tragedies such as the 1999 Columbine High School shooting.
The reality is that these get-tough policies ensnare students who commit minor infractions as well as the few who are violent. In Maryland, most suspensions were imposed for nonviolent offenses, such as disrespect, insubordination and poor attendance—hardly the Columbine-style incidents that prompted the policies.
Clearly, schools must remove violent or dangerous students from classrooms. But they also must educate all of our children—and that rarely happens for those who are sent home. According to the annual report, more than three-quarters of students suspended in Maryland received no education while out of school, even though legally they are entitled to it. Those children missed days, weeks and even months of lessons.
Some argue that children forfeit their right to be educated in a classroom when they misbehave. But suspension has severe consequences outside the classroom. Suspended children often are from families that don't have supervision at home, according to the 2000 Census. When children aren't in school, they are far more likely to become involved in fights, carry weapons, have sex, smoke cigarettes, and use alcohol and drugs. And they're on a track toward jail.
Nor is suspension much of a deterrent. If it were, few students would be suspended more than once. However, more than 4,300 students in Prince George's County were suspended at least twice in 2005–06; 480 of them, five or more times.
How does sitting at home teach a child to respect his teacher? How does suspending a child with excessive absences improve her attendance? Instead of suspension, schools must set consequences that prevent and remediate inappropriate or dangerous behavior.
Schools and teachers need other strategies, and, fortunately, there are many that work, such as in-school suspension, mental health counseling, peer mediation and supervised recess to let kids blow off steam. Another approach focuses on "restorative" consequences; it moves away from punishment toward a model in which teachers, students and families solve problems together.
The message that alternatives to suspension are needed isn't getting across to Maryland educators and policymakers. The onus is on state policymakers and local school systems to communicate that message louder and clearer.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
-Henry Adams

Page #

This story can fit 150-200 words.
One benefit of using your newsletter as a promotional tool is that you can reuse content from other marketing materials, such as press releases, market studies, and reports.
While your main goal of distributing a newsletter might be to sell your product or service, the key to a successful newsletter is making it useful to your readers.
A great way to add useful content to your newsletter is to develop and write your own articles, or include a calendar of upcoming events or a special offer that promotes a new product.
You can also research articles or find “filler” articles by accessing the World Wide Web. You can write about a variety of topics but try to keep your articles short.
Much of the content you put in your newsletter can also be used for your Web site. Microsoft Publisher offers a simple way to convert your newsletter to a Web publication. So, when you’re finished writing your newsletter, convert it to a Web site and post it.

This story can fit 75-125 words.
Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter.
Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.
Microsoft Publisher includes thousands of clip art images from which you can choose and import into your newsletter. There are also several tools you can use to draw shapes and symbols.
Once you have chosen an image, place it close to the article. Be sure to place the caption of the image near the image.

This story can fit 100-150 words.
The subject matter that appears in newsletters is virtually endless. You can include stories that focus on current technologies or innovations in your field.
You may also want to note business or economic trends, or make predictions for your customers or clients.
If the newsletter is distributed internally, you might comment upon new procedures or improvements to the business. Sales figures or earnings will show how your business is growing.
Some newsletters include a column that is updated every issue, for instance, an advice column, a book review, a letter from the president, or an editorial. You can also profile new employees or top customers or vendors.

Primary Business Address Your Address Line 2 Your Address Line 3 Your Address Line 4

Phone: 555-555-5555 Fax: 555-555-5555 Email: xyz@microsoft.com

Business Name

This story can fit 175-225 words.
If your newsletter is folded and mailed, this story will appear on the back. So, it’s a good idea to make it easy to read at a glance.
A question and answer session is a good way to quickly capture the attention of readers. You can either compile questions that you’ve received since the last edition or you can summarize some generic questions that are frequently asked about your organization.
A listing of names and titles of managers in your organization is a good way to give your newsletter a personal touch. If your organization is small, you may want to list the names of all employees.
If you have any prices of standard products or services, you can include a listing of those here. You may want to refer your readers to any other forms of communication that you’ve created for your organization.
You can also use this space to remind readers to mark their calendars for a regular event, such as a breakfast meeting for vendors every third Tuesday of the month, or a biannual charity auction.
If space is available, this is a good place to insert a clip art image or some other graphic.

Your business tag line here.

Organization