In the 2006 school year, Sherwood’s suspension rate was 7.2 percent. In the following year, it dropped to 3.4 percent, which equates to 94 total suspensions that year. In following school years, the numbers have consistently stayed low at 93 total suspensions in 2008 and 73 in 2009. While there are a variety of reasons for this trend, two main contributors to the decline in suspensions are new policy changes for what a student may be suspended for and an effort to foster relationships among students and between students and staff.
The policy changes deal with which behaviors are regarded as truly suspendable. "[We’re] making sure that we’re suspending students for incidents that are both dangerous and disruptive to the school operation," says Principal Bill Gregory. "If there are behaviors that don’t fit that category, we find other ways of consequencing students. I want to see kids in school; however, there are times when behavior warrants suspension, so it’s really redefining what the behaviors are."
Suspensions are still being issued for actions such as drug use and fighting. However, actions that are not dangerous and disruptive to the educational program, like chronically cutting class, do not warrant a suspension in the administration’s view. Instead, other consequences, such as calling a student back to school on a day off or detentions, are issued.
Classroom management and equitable practices also contribute to lowering suspension rates. In 2009, nine suspensions were issued for refusal to obey school policies, making up only 12 percent of the total suspensions. Teachers are encouraged to teach from the entire class period and have a rigorous lesson plan to keep students from getting off-task. The school administration has emphasized to the teaching staff the importance of building a relationship with students to make them feel comfortable, asking how their day is going, and calling on every student equitably to develop mutual respect for the student and teacher.
Peer mediation is another program that Sherwood has rebuilt in recent years. Though it took a year to implement, the students in conflict are brought in contact with guidance counselor Erin McKenna who gets trained students to mediate conflicts instead of an adult settling the conflict.
One of the goals of peer mediation is to stop conflicts before they escalate, and this approach fits with a broader philosophy. "I think it’s being proactive," says Gregory. "I know for a fact that we have stopped some fights because of adult presence and security in the building; if I focus more on being proactive and stopping something from happening, we’re keeping school safe. We’ve stopped fights by students coming to members of security or counseling or teacher or an administrator and saying something possibly could be brewing, so what we’ll do is some sort of mediation between the people so that there is no fight that happens."
Intuitively, more suspensions might seem like a way to make school safer, but Assistant Principal Daric Jackson thinks differently. "Suspension does not totally create a safer school; however, it does assist with setting a tone of consequences and expectations," says Jackson. "The suspension rate has decreased mainly because of the relationship established between administrators, staff and the students. Students feel comfortable coming to us and if they do have a conflict with another student, instead of resolving it in a negative manner themselves, they will go to an adult for resolution or assistance."
Because the minority population data tend to show a higher rate of suspension and ineligibility, Jackson, with Building Service Manager Keith Snowden and former counselor Alphonso Burwell, created the Men of Excellence in a proactive approach to look at not only the students but the adults who interact with minority students. Among the goals of Men of Excellence is to build positive relationships between teachers and students and to raise the level of expectation.
Since the policy change and focus on building relations in 2006, the majority of students have continued feeling safe in school, according to results from the annual "School Safety and Security at a Glance" surveys. The percentage of students who reported feeling safe in school was 77.7 percent in 2005, 78.5 percent in 2006, 80.9 percent in 2007, and 79.4 percent in 2009.