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Hampden-Wilbraham leaders credit discipline reforms, training for steep drop in suspensions
Summary
Administrators told the school committee that targeted discipline reforms, expanded C-STAG training and family-engagement strategies helped middle-school suspensions fall from 12.4% to 1.6% and dramatically reduced subgroup suspensions; principals said grant funding and new programs supported the work.
The Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee heard a detailed update from building leaders on measures taken to reduce suspensions and improve school climate, with administrators reporting a sharp decline in middle-school suspensions after targeted interventions.
Principals traced the work to two district initiatives: a "rethinking discipline" effort and expanded C-STAG (Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines) training. Principal Hale told the committee the district was notified in February 2024 about disproportionate suspension rates for Hispanic and multiracial students and that, after adopting new practices and securing grant support, the district was removed from the requirement in December of 2025. "The suspension rates for all students went from 12.4% to 1.6% — from 78 kids suspended to 10," Hale said.
Why it matters: Committee members and administrators said the drop reflects both targeted interventions and broader culture change. The district described strategies now in regular use: earlier family outreach and transition meetings, teacher-made "positive phone calls" (a campaign that produced 456 calls in March), summer tours for incoming students, peer-led orientation, and expanded counseling and mediation alternatives to exclusionary discipline.
Administrators described concrete program investments. The high school implemented the I Decide curriculum (from Harvard Medical School) to address nicotine, alcohol and THC education; the district uses Character Strong and WIN advisory blocks for social-emotional learning. The team also expanded C-STAG-trained staff from three to 11, enabling multi-disciplinary threat-assessment teams that include teachers, counselors, psychologists and nurses.
Committee members pressed for detail about subgroup counts and long-term outcomes. A committee member read data submitted by district staff showing that in 2021-22 suspension rates were 40% for Black or African American students, 33.3% for Hispanic or Latino students and 25.9% for students with disabilities; by 2024-25 the district recorded one Black student suspended and six students with disabilities, the committee said. Administrators acknowledged those figures and said they would follow up with exact cohort counts and context for year-to-year changes.
Officials emphasized limits and tradeoffs: Saturday detention and other alternatives are intended to avoid lost class time, but several members asked whether the extra time invested in relationship-building and intervention detracts from other services. Administrators said they are monitoring outcomes but described the work as part of a broader strategy to prevent suspensions from creating academic setbacks.
Next steps: The district will continue C-STAG training, refine instructional dialogue and analysis/inquiry in classrooms (areas the district review team flagged for growth), and report back with subgroup population numbers and any additional outcome metrics the committee requests.
