cheka.
30th October 2016, 08:45 AM
this is a national agenda. the goal is to keep the violent criminals in class, sitting right next to your precious daughter/son....beating them, bullying them, stealing from them, etc
we see it first hand at our local isd. blacks are let go for the most extreme offenses....and whites are hammered for the slightest thing. CLOSING THE STATISTICAL GAP
nyc.dc is engaged in an all-out attack on good students by pushing this down the line
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-boe-council-october-1103-20161027-story.html
County and school leaders stressed a collaborative strategy is necessary to decrease the disproportionate number of African-American students, students in special education and low-income students suspended each year in Howard County public schools.
Encouraging inclusiveness and diversity is "everybody's job," said school superintendent Renee Foose at the school board's quarterly meeting with the Howard County Council Wednesday.
"Sometimes when it's everybody's job, it's nobody's job," Councilwoman Jen Terrasa said.
Although overall suspensions decreased slightly between 2014 and 2015, black students are still seven times more likely to be suspended than white students. The suspension rate for blacks is around 7 percent while rates for special education students and students with free and reduced-price meals hovers around 8 percent, according to a school data.
Beginning this school year, the school system is implementing a three-year strategy to reduce suspensions overall and eliminate discipline disparities. That plan broadly chases two outcomes: creating a safe and positive learning climate and targeting schools, staff and students that need the most support.
Frank Eastham, the school system's executive director of school improvement, said tackling suspension rates is an "extremely complex" issue that requires "a change of mindset," especially for those educators who more frequently discipline students of a particular race.
By December, the school system plans to give principals and program directors access to dashboards with data on suspension rates as part of a broader push to educate school system staff about suspension rates, said Grace Chesney, the school system's chief accountability officer.
"There's a wealth of data we now have," Chesney said, adding the county's suspension rates rank lower than other neighboring jurisdictions and statewide averages.
Racial disparities mirror nationwide trends.
In 2015, Howard's overall suspension rate of 2.5 percent compared to the statewide suspension rate of 4 percent and has consistently ranked lower than the statewide average over the last several years, according to school data.
The school system will reshuffle an existing position to create a diversity coordinator position over the next several months.
In February, the school board set aside funding for the new position to oversee the school system's effort to promote cultural understanding and inclusiveness in county schools. The position would primarily lead professional development that lifts student voices and is culturally responsible, Foose said.
Meanwhile, each school department is determining how to trim their budgets and evaluate if filling vacancies are necessary after a contentious budget season left the school system with $50 million less than it requested, said Beverly Davis, the school system's budget director.
The county council and the Kittleman administration passed a $808 million budget earlier this year and found no compelling need to fully fund the school system's record-high request.
The school system has also increased student-teacher ratios from 1:19 to 1:20 in first and second grade; and 1:25 to 1:26 in third through fifth grade. Although average caps limit class sizes to 25 for first and second grade and 30 for third through fifth grade, some classes may have more students than others, Eastham said.
Generally, caps are based on averages across all classrooms.
we see it first hand at our local isd. blacks are let go for the most extreme offenses....and whites are hammered for the slightest thing. CLOSING THE STATISTICAL GAP
nyc.dc is engaged in an all-out attack on good students by pushing this down the line
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-boe-council-october-1103-20161027-story.html
County and school leaders stressed a collaborative strategy is necessary to decrease the disproportionate number of African-American students, students in special education and low-income students suspended each year in Howard County public schools.
Encouraging inclusiveness and diversity is "everybody's job," said school superintendent Renee Foose at the school board's quarterly meeting with the Howard County Council Wednesday.
"Sometimes when it's everybody's job, it's nobody's job," Councilwoman Jen Terrasa said.
Although overall suspensions decreased slightly between 2014 and 2015, black students are still seven times more likely to be suspended than white students. The suspension rate for blacks is around 7 percent while rates for special education students and students with free and reduced-price meals hovers around 8 percent, according to a school data.
Beginning this school year, the school system is implementing a three-year strategy to reduce suspensions overall and eliminate discipline disparities. That plan broadly chases two outcomes: creating a safe and positive learning climate and targeting schools, staff and students that need the most support.
Frank Eastham, the school system's executive director of school improvement, said tackling suspension rates is an "extremely complex" issue that requires "a change of mindset," especially for those educators who more frequently discipline students of a particular race.
By December, the school system plans to give principals and program directors access to dashboards with data on suspension rates as part of a broader push to educate school system staff about suspension rates, said Grace Chesney, the school system's chief accountability officer.
"There's a wealth of data we now have," Chesney said, adding the county's suspension rates rank lower than other neighboring jurisdictions and statewide averages.
Racial disparities mirror nationwide trends.
In 2015, Howard's overall suspension rate of 2.5 percent compared to the statewide suspension rate of 4 percent and has consistently ranked lower than the statewide average over the last several years, according to school data.
The school system will reshuffle an existing position to create a diversity coordinator position over the next several months.
In February, the school board set aside funding for the new position to oversee the school system's effort to promote cultural understanding and inclusiveness in county schools. The position would primarily lead professional development that lifts student voices and is culturally responsible, Foose said.
Meanwhile, each school department is determining how to trim their budgets and evaluate if filling vacancies are necessary after a contentious budget season left the school system with $50 million less than it requested, said Beverly Davis, the school system's budget director.
The county council and the Kittleman administration passed a $808 million budget earlier this year and found no compelling need to fully fund the school system's record-high request.
The school system has also increased student-teacher ratios from 1:19 to 1:20 in first and second grade; and 1:25 to 1:26 in third through fifth grade. Although average caps limit class sizes to 25 for first and second grade and 30 for third through fifth grade, some classes may have more students than others, Eastham said.
Generally, caps are based on averages across all classrooms.