Punitive discipline AUSD not sure about staying.. What's discipline like at your high school?
Hello,
We currently have a son in Albany Middle School. We have enjoyed watching him grow in the AUSD system and assumed he would continue on to Albany High School.
Since the recent events at Albany High School involving racist posts I've found that the district has become much more punitive. Kids are getting suspensions for small offenses that in the past I think would have been met with some compassion. At Albany Middle School the administration seems to be on a kind of which hunt with a strange message of both supporting the kids and then interpreting the Behavior Matrix in a very strict way. Chatting with friends, kids are receiving 2nd and 3rd offense punishments for much much milder infractions. Parents seem to have little control. (Parents are only contacted after discipline has been given... so kids are getting suspended before parents know.)
We're rethinking our choice to stay in Albany. We have the opportunity to move in September and would like to take this into consideration.
El Cerrito, Berkeley and Oakland families, I wonder if you could speak a bit about discipline at your high school? If your child has been though the discipline process, what was it like? Do you feel the system is set up in a fair way? If your child has been a victim of other's ill conceived behaviors what has the support for them been like?
Thanks so much for your thoughts and ideas.
-Feels like I'm in a tinder box.
Parent Replies
If you want true facts on suspensions rather than hearsay, you can file a Freedom of Information Act with your school district and receive information on the number and type of suspensions by grade and have them identify the race of those that are suspended. Ask them to calculate percents to total. Ask for this one year before the incident and then the incident to present. What you are really looking for is the catch-all "Willful Defiance" category, which is everything from disobeying authority to texting during class. Many feel this is category of suspension that can be applied unevenly and in a discriminatory fashion. Perhaps just filing this FOIA will put the pressure on the school district to have them rethink what is going on. You could suggest restorative justice techniques to combat.
Here in the WCCUSD, we've made great strides in suspensions, but still, our highest categories African-Americans and Special Ed students. This is unacceptable and we all know it. I'm pretty sure our reasons for using it are different from yours, but still, every suspension deprives a child of a chance to learn, and in may cases cements a pipeline to prison. Our Board is now actively discussing a ban on "Willful Defiance" suspensions. There's a lot to it... it isn't easy, but I'm hopeful we'll get there.
I've been pretty happy with the schools here in El Cerrito. We have some of the most diverse schools in the whole USA right here. In a time when the world is crying for better understandings of others, I couldn't think of a better training ground for my own children. Come on over! We'd love to have you!
I am the parent of a senior at El Cerrito. I must say that I have no idea how discipline is handled, that is an interesting question and I look forward to others' responses. As far as I know neither she nor anyone she knows has been disciplined, either in middle school or high school, or been a victim. (Lol, I guess come to El Cerrito because everyone is perfectly well behaved!)
I have a child at Albany Middle School and one at Albany High School. My kids haven't been involved in much discipline, so I only have general information. The incidents earlier this spring in social media and in the hallways have definitely had an effect on the schools, although the incidents involved small numbers of students and were not representative of the school's general atmosphere (in my opinion). I do think that both schools are enforcing their policies against bullying more vigorously. My impression is the opposite of a tinder box, it's more like the schools are walking their talk. You mentioned a "strange message of both supporting the kids and interpreting the Behavior Matrix in a strict way". I think that a great deal of attention is being paid to counseling, talking, and learning about race, gender, and inclusion issues, while enforcing a zero tolerance policy on bullying.
The punitive discipline system used at AMS and AHS is one of the reasons that we moved our son to private school after his freshman year at AHS. (We are definitely not sorry to have missed this year's major racist incidents!) We have a child at AMS as well, and so far we're hanging on there for her. Among other reasons, moving to a different city isn't practical for us, so we'll certainly continue to lobby the school board to eliminate suspension as a punishment for "willful defiance." In our experience, this is never related to bullying incidents, but instead is a result of teachers who haven't earned their students' respect and aren't competent to address any kind of "misbehavior" in class. And indeed, we as parents never find out about recurring problems until long past the time we could help address them effectively.
I have read that at least some schools in Oakland have implemented disciplinary systems based on restorative justice and actual TEACHING instead of on outdated and ineffective "behavior matrix" and punitive systems. But honestly, I think school systems everywhere have a long way to go with this.