Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

The Forgotten Victims Speak at Last

—

by

James A. Bacon
in

The Obama administration and the ACLU have forced Henrico County to adopt policies that reduce the number of student suspensions in schools on the grounds that disciplinary action disproportionately affects African-American students. Henrico County has responded as ordered, reducing suspensions by 38% over the past five years. Forgotten in the controversy is the fact that the victims of disrupted classrooms are mainly African-American as well. The negative effects of law discipline comes through loud and clear in this segment from Channel 6 News, based on complaints made at a recent Town Hall meeting.

Henrico school officials say their intensive counseling approach to problem students is working. Color me skeptical. I’m glad to see parents finally speaking out.

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9 responses to “The Forgotten Victims Speak at Last”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    How does Henrico compare with other school systems?

    ‘I think a much bigger issue that needs to be addressed is this:

    ” How Local School District Funding Practices Hurt Disadvantaged Students and What Federal Policy Can Do About It”

    A study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that educational funding is being allocated on the basis of “staff allocations, program-specific formulae, squeaky-wheel politics, property wealth, and any number of other factors that have little to do with the needs of students.”

    The outcome of such practices is predictable: A further widening of the dangerous achievement gap that has become endemic in American schools today”

    https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/reports/2008/06/10/4567/ensuring-equal-opportunity-in-public-education/

    Inequalities in per-pupil spending across schools stem from three sources: differences in average spending across states; differences in average spending across districts within the same state; and differences in spending across schools within the same district.

    Historical data measure spending at the state and school district—but not school—levels. These data show that the share of inequality in district-level current spending per pupil coming from differences within states has declined over time as many states have reformed their school funding systems; by 2011, only 22 percent of spending inequality came from differences across districts within the same state, while 78 percent came from differences between states.

    Because most school districts allocate staff positions, rather than dollars, to schools, accurate school-level financial data are hard to come by. However, recent analyses suggest that within-district disparities in spending, often generated by the migration of more experienced and therefore better paid teachers to schools serving more advantaged student bodies, now play a larger role than differences in spending across districts.” ( Memo: Federal school finance policy)

    The reality here is that when you concentrate low-income kids in school and staff that school with the least experienced people – you’re going to have problems and arguing about discipline statistics is dumb and counterproductive. It won’t solve the issue.

    Someone needs to start telling the truth about why we have so many disruptive students concentrated in certain schools – without making it a dog-whistle about race.

  2. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    The bigger problem is inequitable staffing of low income schools within the district -which concentrates the numbers of disruptive students at the same time the least experienced teachers are left to contend with.

    The argument over the data and discipline policies will resolve nothing.

    There is a second issue here which is why would you suspend a student rather than send them to the alternative school that is designed to deal with behavioral issues.

    why argue about suspension as if doing something about the symptom solves anything?

    1. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      I see a difference between suspension and expulsion. The former may get a student to think. The latter should be a last resort.

      Larry, I do take issue with your statement about inequitable staffing of low income schools. Both the Feds and the State provide extra funding for low-income schools and, hence, students. As I recall, Fairfax County adds more than $50 million annually. Many classes in Title One schools have student-teacher ratios in the teens, whereas class sizes in perceived upper income elementary schools can exceed 30 students. How much do taxpayers have to spend before low-income families and students become responsible for their own behavior?

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        @TMT – not my statement – it’s for actual data – documented in studies:

        ” Inequalities in per-pupil spending across schools stem from three sources: differences in average spending across states; differences in average spending across districts within the same state; and differences in spending across schools within the same district. Historical data measure spending at the state and school district—but not school—levels. These data show that the share of inequality in district-level current spending per pupil coming from differences within states has declined over time as many states have reformed their school funding systems; by 2011, only 22 percent of spending inequality came from differences across districts within the same state, while 78 percent came from differences between states. Because most school districts allocate staff positions, rather than dollars, to schools, accurate school-level financial data are hard to come by. However, recent analyses suggest that within-district disparities in spending, often generated by the migration of more experienced and therefore better paid teachers to schools serving more advantaged student bodies, now play a larger role than differences in spending across districts.”

        https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2016/12/08/memo-federal-school-finance-policy/

        from the Thomas Fordham Institute:

        ” Within states, large
        gulfs separate the best-funded and worst-funded
        school districts, in ways that favor the more affluent.
        Whether a child attends a well-funded school or poorly
        funded school still depends heavily on where he/she
        lives. Even within school districts, there are often vast
        disparities between schools—disparities that generally
        favor schools with savvier leaders and wealthier parents.
        The latest research shows that these gaps between
        disparate schools and districts can amount to thousands
        of dollars per student per year. For youngsters on
        the caboose of the socio-economic gravy train, we
        spend tens of thousands of dollars less on their educations
        than we do on their more advantaged peers”

        1. TooManyTaxes Avatar
          TooManyTaxes

          Fairfax County contradicts the study and is not likely alone. And while I’m sure there are some discrepancies in funding, there are also differences in cost of living and, hence, operational costs.

          I like to hear someone from either Brookings or the Thomas Fordham entity address Fairfax County. I don’t suspect they could.

  3. CleanAir&Water Avatar
    CleanAir&Water

    As a former School Board member and Chair from another state … I know that some big cities have had success with alternative schooling and that neither suspension or expulsion produces kids who graduate or turn into responsible adults.

    Alternative schools are worth a try. The system I lived in was small so we had other ways of dealing with behavioral issues, but we also had parents that were mostly responsible and cared about their child’s education. It is a fact that school systems with low income and low expectations end up costing more, but I bet we all would rather pay more for education than for prison systems.

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    What I AGREE with is getting the disruptive students away from the others and instead of sending them home – into a school designed to deal with those with behavior issues.

    But no matter what you do with those disrupters, it’s not going to help the kids in low-income schools that are staffed with hapless entry-level folks NOT equipped to deal with disruptive students – it’s not taught in college for the most part.

    And you end up with that situations because NO teacher who has a couple years under their belt – and the ability to go to a “better” school is going to go to these troubled schools – which these days will threaten their job as they are blamed as “bad” teachers – so they do what they can to NOT get assigned to such schools.

    that’s the reality.

    other folks can try to paper it over or claim it’s bad parents or disruptive kids not expelled but at the end of the day – you’ve got schools with large numbers of disadvantaged kids that are staffed with entry level teachers who cannot escape – at least for that year.

    The new Federal rules will REQUIRE that the staffing levels will be disclosed at all schools and that (if implemented) will expose this charade…that has been going on now for a while.

    No teacher of even minimal skills is going to let themselves get assigned to these schools – they leave to other districts or just get out because it’s a “no-win” job. They are destined to fail and then get blamed.. or have their career ended.

    1. TooManyTaxes Avatar
      TooManyTaxes

      Interestingly, some recent data shows the average teacher salary in many Dranesville elementary schools (McLean, Great Falls, Herndon and parts of Falls Church and Vienna, are measurably lower than County averages. That suggests schools in a wealthier part of Fairfax County, except for parts of Herndon, have less experienced teachers than are found in some less affluent areas.

      Again, I ask “How much do taxpayers have to spend before low-income families and students become responsible for their own behavior?”

  5. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    @TMT – have you got a reference for the data you show?

    The Feds have been trying for years to get the localities to disclose staffing , staffing experience and salaries on a per school basis – because smaller per district studies have shown that there is disparity in staffing, staffing experience, and staffing salaries between low income schools and other schools in the district.

    but, as to your question – If you fail to educate kids – they fail to graduate or become taxpayers themselves and become lifelong wards of other taxpayers.

    You don’t like 50 years of entitlements or prison at 30K a year ??
    then don’t begrudge 5K a year additional for K-6 at-risk kids who CAN learn if the proper qualified people are hired to teach them instead of using Title 1 money to pay for existing entry-level folks.

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