Tag: Suspensions

  • UCLA: As Suspensions Dropped, California Students Performed Better

    A study out this week suggests school discipline reform is helping to close the achievement gap in California. Out-of-school suspensions have dropped nearly 30 percent statewide since 2011. And researchers with UCLA’s Center for Civil Rights Remedies found many of those districts also saw gains in their Academic Performance Index scores during the same time.…

  • Suspensions, Expulsions Down In San Diego Schools

    A student runs up stairs at Monroe Clark Middle School in City Heights. | Photo Credit: Cecia, The AjA Project By Megan Burks A new law aiming to limit school discipline measures that take students out of class went into effect Jan. 1. But new data from the California Department of Education shows districts have…

  • Voices: New Teachers Bear the Burden of Public Policy Failures

    By Oscar Ramos Oscar Ramos taught at The Preuss School for seven years and now works at a public school district in Texas. He’s also a previous contributor to Speak City Heights partner Voice of San Diego. Ramos’ commentary has been edited for style and clarity. Say you’re a teacher. You’re conducting a lesson in…

  • Local Report on Suspensions Echoes ‘Vergara’ Findings

    Photo Credit: Shutterstock By Mario Koran Seniority-based hiring policies in San Diego Unified mean the poorest schools usually end up with the least experienced teachers. Black and Latino students who attend poor schools are disproportionately suspended and expelled. And one paragraph buried deep within a 63-page report from the school district shows that the two…

  • A New School of Thought on Discipline

    Photo Credit: Shutterstock By Mario Koran A report by the Harvard researchers who visited San Diego Unified says it best: The tough-on-crime, zero tolerance policies America used to fight the war on drugs in the past few decades shifted to schools. “Now, with 20 years of experience and insight into how this approach to school…