School division reports large drop in suspensions, drug incidents after expanded interventions

Campbell County Public Schools officials told the school board on May 15 that the division saw a substantial decline in disciplinary incidents this school year, including fewer short- and long-term suspensions and a large drop in drug-related incidents.

“Effective school wide discipline is a collective effort,” Doctor Wilson said as he opened an overview of the division’s discipline data, citing family partnerships, teacher coaching and district training as factors behind the trend.

Wilson told the board the division recorded about 800 fewer disciplinary offenses across elementary, middle and high schools compared with last year. Short-term suspensions (defined by the district as one to five days) decreased by about 480 incidents; Wilson said the average short-term suspension length was two days and that the reduction equated to roughly 860 fewer days students were out of class. Long-term suspensions also declined; Wilson said there were about 156 fewer long-term suspensions than the prior year.

Wilson and board members tied the reductions to several changes the division made this year: additional behavior-focused professional development for teachers (including the Teacher Learning Academy), expanded in-school interventions, a revised Cornerstone program for students with repeated needs, and partnerships with court services and the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.

“The more we are impacting those behaviors … the more instructional hours our students have,” Wilson said, walking the board through the district’s calculation of recovered instructional time.

Drug violations fell sharply, Wilson said: the district recorded 117 drug-related incidents last year and 25 this year—“about an 80% reduction,” he said. Tobacco and vaping incidents also dropped; Wilson estimated a roughly 31% reduction in vaping/tobacco possession incidents after the district switched from a three-day out-of-school suspension to an in-school suspension with an education curriculum developed in partnership with the American Lung Association.

Wilson described other targeted efforts: Cornerstone (the division’s short-term alternative program) now includes extended school day reading interventions and afternoon behavioral instruction for grades 6–8, and the division moved its early intervention program to Concord Elementary to extend the school day and provide transportation for participants. He said about 82% of students who had attended Cornerstone over four years showed reading deficits, so the division is integrating academic and behavioral supports to reduce recidivism—Wilson cited a roughly 42% recidivism rate for some Cornerstone returnees.

Board members frequently praised the results and asked for more detail. One member asked whether office referrals rose after a new cell‑phone policy; Wilson said there was an initial spike but that incidents largely “rounded out” after implementation and he expects further decline next year. When asked about parental involvement, Wilson said administrators were generally successful at partnering with families and that many discipline cases were resolved before reaching central office.

Board members and staff also discussed on‑the‑ground changes: meeting students at Cornerstone before an official hearing, involving student services specialists earlier, and shortening timelines to be mindful of academic calendars when placing students.

The board did not take formal action on the discipline presentation. Members asked staff to continue monitoring the metrics through the summer and report back if notable changes occur.

Ending

Board members commended administrators, Cornerstone staff and community partners for the results and asked staff to keep providing data and context as interventions continue.