Baltimore City Schools Reduces Suspension Rates
When Baltimore City Schools watched their suspension rates skyrocket over the past decade, they knew that they had to tackle the problem. Baltimore City's suspension rates were significantly higher than the two largest districts in the state and the disproportionate number of suspensions and expulsions of Black boys was resulting in complaints from civil rights and youth advocacy groups. Critics noted that many of the suspensions were for relatively minor offenses such as insubordination, disrespect, skipping class, tardiness, or arguments among classmates. In addition, 77 percent of students who were suspended in Maryland during a recent school year received no educational services while they were out of school.
It became increasingly evident that the suspension policies did little to curtail the undesired behaviors. In fact, some felt they may have created more problems than they solved. They did not improve the overall school climate and diluted the availability of assistance for students who had the most significant academic and social problems.
A communitywide movement to support prevention programs and reduce referrals for out-of-school suspension was launched with the support of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, a local branch of the New York City Open Society Institute, the foundation set up by the philanthropist George Soros. In the fall of 2007, local philanthropies announced a $1.5 million investment in a wide range of alternative programs run by independent groups on behalf of the 82,000-student district.
The largest of the grant-funded alternatives is offered by Sports4Kids, an Oakland, California-based nonprofit group that provides games and organized sports activities and teaches students to resolve conflicts peacefully. A site coordinator is present every day at the schools participating in the Sports4Kids program. The coordinator leads organized games at recess, works with individual classes during "game time," and runs after-school programs. The coordinator mediates conflicts between students and teaches positive ways to solve disagreements. Principals of participating schools are pleased with the drop in office discipline referrals and the dramatic decrease in suspensions.
Another promising alternative in the Baltimore initiative is the Meet-Me-Halfway mentoring program that is being offered at one of the city's middle schools. Students who are given out-of-school suspensions for discipline issues instead participate in a structured program where they receive mentoring, tutoring, and other services, in addition to their regular instruction. The program has helped to nearly eliminate out-of-school suspensions at the middle school.
Excerpted from Truth in Labeling: Disproportionality in Special Education. Source: Education Week, "Baltimore District Tackles High Suspension Rates," published in print: April 25, 2007.
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