Christina board orders investigation after members cite 28 arrests at Douglas alternative programs

The Christina School District Board of Education voted 5–2 on March 11 to direct district staff to investigate reports that dozens of incidents at Douglas alternative programs led to police involvement this school year.

Board President Donald Patton said the request followed a detailed letter from a parent about a February 27 arrest and subsequent staff and vendor briefings. “There’s something wrong with this picture, and I’m asking the superintendent and the deputy superintendent to conduct a full investigation,” Patton said during the meeting.

The board had invited Transforming Lives, the vendor that runs the district’s alternative-education program on one side of the Douglas campus, to present its model and answer questions. Malik Mohammed, founder and chief executive officer of Transforming Lives, described the organization’s approach as relationship- and trauma‑informed, with an emphasis on “connection, of relationships first” and a stated mission “that all youth can succeed.” Transforming Lives leaders described layered supports that include daily counseling, staff training in evidence‑based practices and transition supports for students returning to their home schools.

District staff described the other vendor operating at Douglas — formerly known as Pathways and now called Claravita — which runs the emotional‑support (ESE) classrooms for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). District staff said Claravita’s roster at Douglas included 39 students and about 24 employees; the program uses therapeutic counseling, blended instruction and restorative practices.

Board members and staff presssed both vendors and the district on how incidents are managed, whether staff training and staffing levels are adequate, and how students are re‑integrated into their home schools. Transforming Lives staff told the board their site serves roughly 80 students this school year and has an active roll of about 50; staff said they typically operate with roughly an 8:1 student‑to‑teacher ratio and that about half of their students have IEPs.

Patton and other board members raised the number 28 after district representatives said Wilmington Police Department data showed 28 recorded arrests linked to Douglas programs this school year. The district said it would clarify whether the 28 figure reflects unique students or repeated incidents involving the same students. "That number — 28 arrests — there is no way that we can say that we're okay with 28 students being arrested in a program that tells us before they even step one foot in that door that they have these challenges," Patton said.

Board members argued for a written, itemized report that documents each incident, what de‑escalation and clinical interventions staff used beforehand, whether parents were contacted and what follow‑up the district and vendors provided. The board's motion — made during the meeting and seconded by Alethia Smith Tucker — directs the district to investigate the 28 instances and to provide a detailed report to the board at its April meeting.

District leaders told the board they would include SRO (school resource officer) incident details and would ask Wilmington Police for the underlying data; the district also said it would compile vendor documentation, incident reports, restraint/restoration records and the sequence of communications with families and principals.

The board did not take action on vendor contracts at the meeting. One vendor previously notified the district it would not appear before the board. Several board members said they want the investigation to clarify whether current vendor staffing, training and reporting practices meet district standards and to recommend immediate corrective steps where necessary.

The board scheduled the district report for the April meeting so members can review incident‑level documentation and determine any further policy or contract actions.