Waterbury schools report lower suspension trends, outline restorative practices, Yondr pouch use and mental-health partnerships

Waterbury School District officials told the Board of Education on Jan. 7 that in-school and out-of-school suspensions have trended down since the pandemic, and that the district is investing in restorative practices, device-management and community mental-health partnerships to further reduce exclusions.

Assistant Superintendent Gopi and other district staff reviewed half-year trend data for discipline and said restorative practices and new de-escalation strategies are being implemented across schools. The district reported 984 students contributing to the current year’s out-of-school suspension total (district enrollment cited as 18,802), and 28 school-related arrests year-to-date. Staff said 9 of those arrests stemmed from a large off-site stadium incident involving students, and that five…