Student behavior violations drop, but problem persists

Education officials were quick to trumpet the success when Hamilton County schools showed a 30 percent decrease in student behavior problems last school year.

Despite the improvement, there were still nearly 13,000 student violations countywide, and a Times Free Press examination of district data shows that the number of students suspended and expelled increased or stayed the same at nearly one in five schools over the last three years.

In-school suspensions were cut nearly in half from 2009 to 2010, while out-of-school suspensions and expulsions declined by 23 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Student fights decreased by 28 percent, records show.

"Overall, yes, [behavior issues] have improved," said Robert Sharpe, Hamilton County Schools' director of middle schools.

However, district data show that a number of schools still experienced rampant disciplinary problems ranging from the minor (such things as violations of dress codes and cell phone rules) to the serious (guns, drugs).

Among the other findings:

* On average, 27 students received in-school suspensions, 43 were suspended, two were expelled and 12 got into fights every day in Hamilton County schools in the 2009-10 school year.

* The 10 schools with the most behavior infractions were responsible for nearly half of all fights, suspensions and expulsions in the district last year.

* In the 2009-10 school year, a student was expelled almost every other day, on average, at Orchard Knob Middle School.

And it's not just the students who are suspended or expelled who pay the price for the behavior problems.

Each rule violation creates one more obstacle to learning, teachers say.

A group of studious eighth-graders at Orchard Knob Middle - the campus with the greatest number of disciplinary actions at nearly 1,300 - said last year's behavior issues made the school "a little out of control."

The group of students, who are responsible for starting a school newspaper, say they have chosen to look the other way.

"We have no choice but to ignore [the bad kids]," said Shantiana Vinson, 14.

Classmate Trevon Hymes, 13, said he has decided to lead by example.

"If you do your work and other people see you, they'll follow you," he said.

Other schools still are struggling with behavior problems as well.

Suspensions at both Dalewood Middle and the high school of Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences increased substantially, from 166 to 300 and 68 to 102, respectively, over the past three school years. There were four fights at DuPont Elementary in 2008, and 26 in 2010.

Principals at some of these schools don't dispute the steady rise in incidents, but they say student discipline is a delicate balance. Every day a student is suspended or expelled is a day the youngster is not in class, they say.

"That's one of those things that doesn't always look good, but it shows we're trying to control what's going on here," said Todd Jackson, principal at Sequoyah High School, where the number of fights, suspensions and expulsions all increased since 2007. "We need them [students] in school as much as possible, but we've got to keep order as well."

"TIRED OF RUNNING"

For the past two years, Orchard Knob Middle has had more suspensions and expulsions than any of the other 77 public schools in Hamilton County.

Annette Thompson, mom to three Orchard Knob students, said the school is unsafe. Although she acknowledged that her kids "aren't angels," she said they get caught up in fights at the school.

PDF: Hamilton County schools behavior report for 2008-2010

The East Chattanooga resident said she refuses to transfer her kids to another school, however.

"I'm tired of running. We shouldn't have to go out of zone; my kids are all going to Orchard Knob," said the mother of 10. "I'll just keep telling people until something changes."

Maryo Beck, in his third year as principal at Orchard Knob Middle, insists that the climate at his school is improving. The number of fights, for instance, decreased to 165 last school year from 204 the previous year. This year is on track to be even lower, he said.

In his second year at Orchard Knob, the school received the majority of the students from Howard Middle after that school closed. Enrolling students from the two rivaling communities created tension, Beck said.

"We had an entirely new population of kids," he said.

When a new administration comes to a school, it takes several years to turn around the atmosphere, Beck said. This year, posters hanging in most classrooms lay out specific expectations for student behavior. So far, it seems to be working, the principal said.

The expectations are spelled out using the initials of Orchard Knob Middle School to help students remember them:

"On time, on task.

Keeping our words and actions positive.

Making smart choices.

Showing respect."

Outside influences

Many fights and discipline issues at Orchard Knob and other schools spill over from neighborhood and community conflicts, teachers say. And like it or not, they usually can't do much about it other than try to defuse the situation before it becomes a fight.

"We try not to let kids bring in their problems from the community," Orchard Knob math teacher Julie Hutcherson said. "A lot of times if they try to start something, I just laugh and say, 'Y'all both hush.'"

Sharpe, the county's director of middle schools, pointed out that while suspensions and expulsions can be the result of drugs and violence, they also can be the result of relatively minor infractions such as dress code violations and talking back to a teacher.

He told the story of a time when he was a middle school principal and instituted a much stricter dress code policy. Discipline violations went way up, he said, but overall school climate improved.

There's more to the numbers at Sequoyah, too, Jackson said. In the 2007-08 school year, the school had 76 suspensions. The following year, that number jumped to 106, and then to 180 last year.

Jackson, in his second year as principal, said he gave out more short-term suspensions last year in an effort to get potential problem students out of the building for a day or two to "cool off."

"If we really looked at suspensions, yeah, the total number went up, but total days was probably flat," he said.

Parent Daphne Stargin sits in on all three of Orchard Knob's lunch periods, "changing the world, one hug at a time." Her two sons attend the school, and she sees the increase in suspensions and expulsions as a good thing.

"It's zero tolerance. And as a parent, I want that. I don't want it to take all day for you to deal with a problem," she said.

When asked if she thought Orchard Knob was unsafe, she paused briefly.

"I really don't," she said with a smile. "And if I did, I'd be the first to say something."


BY THE NUMBERS

Overall numbers from Hamilton County's 78 public schools show a marked decrease in the number of in-school and other suspensions and expulsions over the past three school years.

year, number of disciplinary actions

2007-08: 19,944

2008-09: 18,435

2009-10: 12,917

Source: Hamilton County Department of Education


THE DISHONOR ROLL

These are the schools that are among those with the highest total number of in-school and other suspensions and expulsions for 2009-10:

* Orchard Knob Middle: 1,273

* Howard High: 863

* Soddy Daisy Middle: 754

* Brainerd High: 702

* Dalewood Middle: 612

* East Ridge High: 569

* Soddy-Daisy High: 541

* Red Bank Middle: 489

* Brown Middle: 451

* Hixson Middle: 449

Source: Hamilton County Department of Education


ZERO TOLERANCE

Suspensions and expulsions from school can be the result of drugs or violence, but disciplinary action also can result from relatively minor infractions such as dress code violations or talking back to a teacher. According to the Hamilton County Board of Education's "zero tolerance" policy, students can be kicked out of school for a year for the following offenses:

* Bringing a gun to school or possessing one on campus

* Having drugs at school

* Assaulting a teacher, principal, administrator, school resource officer or other school staff member.


ABOUT THE NUMBERS

The Times Free Press examined data on Hamilton County school discipline for three school years: 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10. The data provided by the Department of Education detailed only the raw numbers, not what the disciplinary actions were for, or how many of them might have involved repeat offenders.

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