Local administrators speak out about discipline

California Education Code dictates certain inarguable consequences that administrators must provide when a student has committed severe actions, such as robbery, assault upon a school employee or possession of a knife. However, that does not mean that certain consequences cannot be dictated by individual schools and administrators: every school operates under its own discipline policy.

Here's what local administrators in public education had to say about their discipline philosophies and the state's most recent report of suspension and expulsion rates (see this post for details):

Laurie DeBock, assistant principal of Bidwell Jr. High School.

Laurie DeBock, assistant principal of Bidwell Jr. High School, said every child's situation has to be looked at individually to see what is going on and what consequence applies. The school operates from a progressive discipline model, implementing increasingly severe consequences only after a student has been given a chance to correct behavior and fails.

"I like to try to put in place the least amount of consequence that is going to solve the problem or prevent the problem from happening again," she said. "Most kids don't want to hurt someone else; they don't want to be hurt." 

Ted Sullivan, principal of Chapman Elementary School, said that one of the best ways to prevent discipline issues is to communicate clear expectations to students. For example, every class practices lining up and walking into its classroom and the cafeteria at the beginning of every school year. 

"When kids are not doing things the way we like, a lot of times they aren't clear on what we want them doing," he said. "We don't assume that kids know what we're saying at all."

David McKay, principal of continuation schools in CUSD. 

David McKay, principal of Academy for Change, Center for Alternative Learning, Oakdale Secondary and Fair View High School, said that state statistics unfairly examine all forms of suspension in the same report, discounting the striking difference between in-school suspensions, which provide access to counseling, a safe environment and help with school work, and out-of-school suspensions.

"We had nine kids last year out of all four (continuation) schools that were suspended in home. Nine out of 600. It's like a 2.9 percent suspension rate compared to 35 percent (reported by the state)," he said. "(In school suspensions), in the state's eyes, count the same as 'Go home, Johnny. Go smoke weed.'"

Mike Allen, an associate principal of Chico High School, said that suspension is one of the things the school doesn't like to do and is reserved for major offenses. The government will push for lower rates, but there has to be a balance.

"Suspension rates are tricky...because you're trying to maintain order in a school, and if you don't have consequences effective for behavior, then behavior will ramp up and even get out of control," he said. "The states will mandate lower rates, but do (they) not want us to suspend students for these offenses?"