District SABERS data shows disproportionate suspension risk for Black students; board discusses faster review and supports

At the Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education meeting on July 9, district staff presented SABERS screening results showing persistent racial disparities in out-of-school suspensions, with Black students substantially more likely to receive suspensions than white students.

The presentation, delivered by Matt Kemmer, district staff member who led the SABERS briefing, included risk-ratio analyses comparing suspension likelihood by race and gender. Kemmer said, “a student who's black in our district is 4.4 times more likely to receive an out of school suspension compared to a student who is white.” He later highlighted a separate calculation for gender and race, saying, “our female students who identify as black [have] a risk ratio of 6.6,” meaning Black female students were 6.6 times as likely as white female students to be suspended.

Why it matters: Board members described the numbers as troubling, and staff framed the data as the basis for targeted interventions. Kemmer and others emphasized that SABERS is one input among many—teacher ratings, student self-reports and behavior data are used together to identify students for supports—and that the district uses tiered interventions to try to reduce risk.

Details from the presentation

Kemmer described SABERS as a rating scale collected three times a year (fall, winter, spring) that yields student and teacher perspectives on social, academic and emotional behavior. He said the district ended the year with roughly 75% of students rated low risk by teacher ratings, 19% some risk and 6% high risk. He noted the district has struggled to move students from “some risk” into “low risk.”

Kemmer walked trustees through subgroup trends, saying teacher ratings show disproportionate high-risk counts among students who identify as Black, Hispanic or two or more races, and that male students appear more frequently in high-risk categories on teacher ratings than female students. He described one way to view the magnitude of disparity: “a risk ratio of 1 would be neutral,” and numbers above 1 indicate disproportionate likelihood of receiving a suspension.

School responses and examples

Oak Lawn Elementary behavior instructional support teacher Darcy Trevyatowski described a local response that school staff said reduced classroom avoidance and out-of-class minutes: opening ‘‘active calming centers’’ and self-regulation rooms, training students to use them, and creating peer-teacher mentorships. Trevyatowski said the school saw a decrease in minutes students spent out of class and more students able to return to lessons: “The kids were able to utilize the active calming as a self regulation tool…a majority of the kids will say, 'Yep, I'm okay. I'm okay to go back.'”

Board discussion and next steps

Trustees pressed for faster review and clearer accountability. Several board members asked for more rapid monitoring and noted concern that these trends have worsened over recent years despite investments in PBIS, restorative practices and conscious discipline. Kemmer said the district can set notifications in Infinite Campus to flag longer suspensions and suggested the district could return with options for regular dashboard reporting.

No formal action was taken; staff said they would follow up with options for more frequent monitoring and continued school-level interventions.

Ending

Trustees and staff emphasized continuing focus on targeted supports, family engagement and data-driven reviews to address disproportionality. Oak Lawn's example was offered as a model for school-level, relationship-focused interventions while district staff develop monitoring and support plans.