Student-support update: discipline referrals and suspensions decline as interventions expand
Summary
Dr. Wilson told the board that year-to-date discipline incidents are down about 600 from last year and that roughly 90% of students have no referrals; the division cited targeted interventions, decentralized attendance staff and program partnerships as drivers of the improvements.
The school division's student-support team reported a year-to-date decline in disciplinary incidents and continued work on attendance and intervention strategies at the Jan. 12 board meeting.
Dr. Wilson said about 90% of students had no discipline referral this school year and that the division recorded about 600 fewer incidents in the current reporting period compared with the previous year (November year-to-date comparisons). He added that out-of-school suspensions now affect about 3% of students and that there were about 100 fewer short-term suspensions this year than last.
Wilson credited the decline to proactive, tiered supports: expanded behavior teams in schools, a Cornerstone middle-school redesign for targeted intervention, decentralized attendance staff assigned by zone, and partnerships (including a CarePortal connection to regional nonprofits) to address students' material and immediate needs.
Board members asked for raw numbers and percentage adjustments to account for declining enrollment; Wilson said the slides included raw figures and offered to provide percent-based comparisons on request. He also described specific program details: small-group, skill-based training for high school students (45-minute weekly sessions over 12 weeks) and improved transition supports for students returning from Cornerstone.
Next steps: Administration will provide more detailed raw data and percentage comparisons and continue to expand early-intervention supports.
