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School leaders credit restorative practices and reduced phone use for 70% drop in discipline incidents
Summary
Seaside Middle School presenters reported a 70% decrease in disciplinary violations compared with the same months two years earlier and a 64% drop in suspensions; they attributed the changes to restorative practices, daily homeroom and reduced cell-phone access.
Presenters told the board Seaside Middle School recorded a large year-over-year decline in disciplinary incidents: “We have a 70% decrease in discipline violations when we compare the same time frame for the last two years back,” one presenter said.
The team said reductions span minors and majors, with majors routed to administrative review and minors handled in classrooms. They credited assemblies, restorative questioning, consistent daily homeroom time and a district-wide reduction in cell-phone availability as key contributors to fewer referrals and suspensions.
School leaders also shared suspension figures: a reported 64% decrease in in-school and out-of-school suspensions over the same four-month comparison frame. Board members asked whether policy changes explained the declines; presenters said no new policy drove the change, and instead pointed to increased fidelity with existing practices and intensive relationship-building.
Administrators asked the board to consider ways to celebrate teachers and staff whose day-to-day work produced the results, and board members asked for follow-up entries in future data packets to help track equity and demographic patterns in referrals and supports.
