E-Mail
Print
I was inspired by 14-year-old Jane Carretero's March 12 letter. I, too, attended the breakfast addressing discipline in Fresno Unified. Last year, more than 32,000 days of school were missed due to suspensions. When we think about reasons for suspensions, generally we think of school fights and other dangerous acts. In reality, the vast majority of suspensions result from minor offenses -- behaviors that will not change by spending a few days at home and missing vital learning time.
Suspending students for nonviolent behaviors helps no one; students don't have the opportunity to amend their behaviors and fall behind in their courses. Can you imagine missing a week of calculus, Spanish or science class? In classes where everything builds on top of previously learned materials, it is extremely difficult to catch up. For some students, this missed class time can increase the risk of dropping out of high school and wind up lacking the education or skills to succeed.
Fresno Unified's discipline system hurts all students and hurts Fresno's economy by contributing to the high dropout rate. The time is now to implement a discipline plan that keeps students in school, teaches conflict resolution and helps all students succeed.
Alison Grady
Fresno
