Canal Winchester schools report mixed progress on discipline; new tracking and supports planned for 2025–26

District staff presented the 2024–25 behavior and discipline review at the July 14 board meeting, reporting declines in several high‑school measures but noting worrying increases in some elementary school incidents. The presenter said the data will guide interventions, and the district plans a new district‑wide behavior‑tracking system and aligned MTSS/RTI beginning in the 2025–26 school year.

At Canal Winchester High School, staff reported a year‑over‑year drop in most measures: total office referrals and the number of students with discipline actions both decreased, though suspensions rose 7% and expulsions rose by three students (a reported 60% increase given the small base). Staff emphasized the decline in repeat offenders and attributed improvements partly to hallway sweeps, a revised cell‑phone policy and increased staff visibility.

At the middle school, total discipline actions and out‑of‑school suspensions fell, but staff flagged persistent and growing disrespect or insubordination toward staff and an increase in fighting (from 25 to 40 incidents) and vaping (from 1 to 9 incidents).

Elementary results diverged. Winchester Trail showed significant declines in discipline actions and credited new leadership and a revamped MTSS system. Indian Trail, however, had “significant year‑over‑year increases” in both office referrals and discipline actions; staff said 19 students accounted for 35 discipline actions and that kindergarten‑level behavior intensity and frequency rose compared with previous years.

District staff told the board they would implement these steps for 2025–26: roll out a new behavior‑reporting tool to standardize entries (time, location, involved students), align MTSS and RTI across Indian Trail and Winchester Trail, and restructure special‑education and behavior resources at Indian Trail to provide more targeted supports. On‑site alternative placements (in‑school interventions) were used more extensively to keep students in school when appropriate.

The presenter said, “This will all be in place starting with 2025–26 full year,” and staff answered questions about implementation timelines and data definitions. The board did not take a policy vote; the presentation concluded with an invitation to review semester‑level reports that will be attached to the board packet.

Why it matters: the data and promised changes affect classroom management, special education services and how the district will allocate staffing and training next year. Standardized incident reporting will also give district leaders clearer evidence to target staff deployment and interventions.

What’s next: the district will implement the new reporting system before the 2025–26 school year and have MTSS teams use the richer data to target supports. Board members and administrators requested follow‑up data after one semester of implementation.

Quotations in this story are taken directly from speakers recorded in the meeting transcript and attributed to meeting participants in the speaker list.