Students tell Rockford board they want clearer discipline, more mental-health support and changes to attendance practices

Student representatives described inconsistent discipline, limited counseling and a decline in activities as drivers of absences and lower engagement during a presentation to the Rockford Public Schools Board of Education committee on student voice.

Dr. Antoine Reed, the district’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, introduced the findings from a series of student listening sessions and invited high-school scholars to summarize what they had told listening teams from across the district.

The students’ messages focused on four issues: behavior management, attendance, grading and social-emotional supports. "Students will not learn by suspension," said Sophie Gorney, a student who spoke for West High School, arguing that removals have not taught students to change conduct. Gorney urged the district to restore "level five" disciplinary referrals to categories beyond only violent incidents so students feel the consequences of repeated misbehavior.

Student speakers also criticized hallway sweeps as ineffective. "Increasing hall sweeps doesn't fix it," Gorney said. "It just makes them more sneaky about it." Nevaeh Alexander of Jefferson High School said many peers simply do not want to come to school because they feel school will not change their futures and because there are fewer extracurriculars and social supports than before. Mahalia Seward, representing Roosevelt, said personalized approaches at Roosevelt helped her reengage after two weeks out: "Every single one of my teachers and administrators checked up on me and asked me if I was okay. When I came back to school, THEY CARED ABOUT WHERE I WAS AND HOW I WAS DOING."

Students described facility and resource shortfalls — outdated bathrooms, limited hygiene access, cafeteria food quality and the need for improved athletic equipment and spaces such as a field house at Jefferson — as barriers to attendance. They repeatedly called for more consistent incentives, more proactive family partnerships to discourage skipping school, and stronger anti-bullying responses.

On social-emotional supports, students asked for easier, same-day access to counselors and spaces where students could pause and regroup. "We need rooms or some type of place where we could just be alone," Alexander said, adding that counseling available only at lunch is not sufficient when a student is in crisis.

Dr. Reed said the district did not stop at listening and described immediate follow-up steps. He told the committee the cabinet had begun troubleshooting items raised by students: nutrition menu changes planned by May, daily building-level attention to hallway management, a review of grading practices with Morgan's team, and work by Heidi Dettman's and Jen Lawrence's teams on safety and student support. "We didn't just stop at listening this time," Reed said. "Our cabinet came together."

Board members thanked the students and urged continued engagement. Vice President McCall and others encouraged the students to bring peers and neighborhoods to future meetings and gave specific invitations to participate in next steps such as code-of-conduct listening sessions.

The presentation concluded with board assurances that some improvements are already underway and with an invitation for the scholars to remain involved as the district develops implementation plans.

Ending: District leaders said specific follow-up will come through building-level plans, the cabinet’s ongoing work on hallway management and grading, and forthcoming facility upgrades tied to the district’s facility plan.