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Salem schools shift discipline tracking to ‘risk ratio,’ pursue restorative approaches
Summary
District officials presented new data using risk ratios to track disproportionality in discipline and outlined steps — including training, grants and targeted supports — to reduce exclusionary practices affecting students of color, students with disabilities, multilingual learners and low‑income students.
Ellen Wingard, executive director of student services for Salem Public Schools, told the School Committee on Dec. 2 that the district is using a metric called risk ratio to measure disproportionality in disciplinary outcomes and is directing resources toward restorative and preventive approaches.
The change matters because exclusionary discipline — suspensions, expulsions or any administrator‑managed removal from instruction — disproportionately affects marginalized groups, Wingard said. "A risk ratio of 1.0 equals equal representation," she told the committee, and the district’s strategic plan sets a target of lowering subgroup risk ratios toward 1.2 by the end of next school year.
Wingard said the district is tracking incidents recorded in the Aspen student information system (not only formal…
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