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Trenton schools report big drop in suspensions and violent incidents but racial disparities remain
Summary
District leaders told the board June 24 that reported incidents of violence, vandalism and suspensions declined districtwide compared with last year, while data presented show Black students are still overrepresented among those suspended.
The Trenton Board of Education heard a twice‑annual Student Safety Data System presentation on June 24 showing year‑over‑year declines in reported incidents and suspensions, but a demographic breakdown that board members and administrators described as a continuing concern.
Presenting the report, Mr. Stokes said the district saw broad decreases during the reporting period, including fewer assaults, fights and incidences categorized as weapons possession (a drop from 25 to 15 in the most recent comparable window). He told the board the district counted incidents (one incident can involve multiple students) and that total suspensions fell from about 1,658 last year to 957 this year. "We were down 701 suspensions, which equals a 42% decrease," he said.
Why it matters: the reductions indicate progress in several categories of risky behavior, district leadership said, but the presentation underscored uneven outcomes for student groups — information that could shape discipline policy and training.
Mr. Stokes also reviewed a demographic breakdown of suspended students and said Black students made up roughly 45% of the suspended population in the district's period‑to‑date figures and that including students with disabilities would push that share higher. "So we still see that our Black students are being suspended at a higher clip than any other student across the district," he said. Board members and staff pointed to ongoing cultural‑competency work and restorative‑practices training as key responses to close that gap.
Board members asked for grade‑level detail. Mr. Stokes provided it for this year and last: elementary suspensions were small (5 this year vs. 43 last year), intermediate (207 vs. 217), middle school (178 vs. 367), and high school suspensions (567 vs. 848). "We're down at every grade level," he said, adding district leaders consider the trend sustainable because of practices undertaken since the pandemic and a rewrite of the student code of conduct to emphasize restorative measures.
On substance possession, Mr. Stokes said the district is primarily seeing marijuana and related paraphernalia, discovered mainly at bag checks and morning screening; he said there is not, at the moment, evidence of a broader uptick in other drugs nor of students strategically dropping items outside buildings to avoid detection.
Board members also sought clarity about reported bike thefts. Mr. Stokes said surveillance video in several buildings confirmed other students were taking bikes, and that many bikes were returned once the students were identified.
The presentation concluded with a reminder that the SSDS report is used to craft action plans — including staff training, community partnerships and restorative practices — to address both the behaviors themselves and the disproportionality in discipline outcomes. The board did not take formal action on the presentation; staff said follow‑up work and monitoring would continue.
Most recent step: the SSDS presentation will be repeated in the district's next mandated reporting cycle and informs staffing and professional‑development priorities.
