DISCIPLINE DATA AT ODDS WITH PARENT, TEACHER EXPERIENCE

Concerns were raised Monday in the Disciplinary Committee of the Hamilton County Board of Education that the number of disruptive classes in county schools is growing.

School board member Rhonda Thurman, according to WTVC, said teachers resignedly attempt to teach throughout the disruptions because they know the school’s front office will do little or nothing about the problem. In the end, she said, any disciplinary action taken ends up undermining the authority of the teacher.

Anecdotally, county teachers have said discipline — not money — is the main reason they leave the profession. A school board member said Monday his wife would no longer substitute teach in the schools because she did not feel safe.

But figures on the state’s report card for individual county high schools, considering the number of suspensions handed out and expulsions made, indicate discipline is improving.

“[The figures allow] us to see trends in student discipline,” the report card reads, “providing a clear view of whether schools have been improving over … the last few years. The goal is to decrease discipline rates.”

The report card for each school displays a trend line from 2018 to 2022 covering in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions and expulsions. Any figures from 2020 are not included because the COVID-19 pandemic forced periods of virtual learning for students.

Since 2018, in Hamilton County high schools, where the most severe discipline problems occur, seven schools have improved in-school suspension rates, six schools have worsened and nine have stayed the same.

Over the same period, 10 schools have improved their out-of-school suspension rates, four have seen theirs worsen, and eight have seen theirs remain virtually the same.

Considering expulsion rates, one school improved its percentage, none worsened, and 21 schools saw theirs remain relatively unchanged.

The highest rates of suspensions continue to be in high schools with high concentrations of minority students, but of the six majority minority non-charter high schools, out-of-school suspensions fell at each, often dramatically. They fell by 20.3% at The Howard School, 18.8% at Brainerd, 5.3% at Red Bank, 4.5% at Central, 3.7% at East Ridge and 1% at Tyner Academy.

Meanwhile, in-school suspensions rose at four of the schools (Brainerd, Central, Red Bank and Tyner Academy), perhaps reflecting the truism that, discipline problem or not, students cannot learn if they’re not in school.

However, at two schools, East Ridge and Howard, in-school suspensions dropped along with out-of-school suspensions. At both schools, they were less than 5%, a mark that, according to the state report card, could be any percentage less than 5%.

In 2018, only Brainerd had an expulsion rate of higher than 5% (8.3%). In 2022, the rates for all 22 high schools were under 5%.

In anyone’s book, that’s a district that improved its discipline. So how to explain what teachers are saying and what school board members say they’re hearing? And how to square that with a Hamilton County Schools district report that cases of bullying increased more than 40% in the 2021-2022 school year from 2018-2019?

Discipline, according to district policy, is largely at the discretion of the individual school principal.

“The school principal has the discretion to deviate from [the] guidelines by assessing an appropriate consequence other than stated in the matrix if he or she determines in his or her sole discretion that there are mitigating or aggravating circumstances,” the policy reads. “However, the learning community superintendent must be consulted when this deviation occurs — prior to finalizing the parental notice.”

In 2019, according to Times Free Press archives, the district updated its code of conduct, with a focus on its discipline policies.

Further, Hamilton County School Chief Equity Officer Marsha Drake said at a school board meeting in December 2022 that one of the goals of the district’s Educational Equity Plan was to reduce the rate of disproportionate suspensions and expulsions. To do that, she said principals have the ability to employ more student data like suspensions by race and other demographics.

Clearly, a disconnect exists. The reality on the ground doesn’t match the reality in state numbers. Today, with parents anxious to become more involved in their children’s schools — both a good and sometimes bad thing — such a disconnect is not likely to be tolerated for long.

Indeed, if things don’t change, remarks like those from East Hamilton Middle School parents at a board meeting last fall will become a drumbeat.

“I can’t stand when [my children] come home and say, ‘I can’t learn. My teacher can’t teach because there’s too many distractions in class,’” said one parent in a Times Free Press report.

“Kids are not safe,” said another. “And they will not be unless we open our mouths.”

“Bottom line,” said the first, “parents aren’t happy, we want change, we’re not going to let that up.”

“And we’re not going to shut up,” the second parent added.