THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170633
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
The School Board is considering changes to its discipline and grading policies for students.
But not without checking with kids first.
The board held its first forum Monday night with students, one from each of the city's five high schools.
The five, representatives of the student governments at the high schools, had a simple message: The board should get tougher on kids who have chronic behavior problems, but it should take caution when imposing harsh academic penalties on kids who have only minor or occasional transgressions.
Most agreed that students who are suspended from school and sent home, a penalty called out-of-school suspension, should get zeroes for all classes missed.
``There should be no way for them to make up that work,'' said Crystal Lassiter, 17, a senior and president of Great Bridge High School's Student Council Association. ``They made a conscious choice to participate in that behavior.''
``I think that they need to suffer for what they have done,'' said Flecia Luton, 17, a senior and president of Deep Creek High School's SCA.
Jennifer Harrell, 17, a senior and president of Oscar F. Smith High School's SCA, said school officials need to ``change the image of suspension as a, quote, vacation from school.''
Harrell and Luton suggested making out-of-school suspensions even more painful, with students required to attend a detention hall on Saturdays or after school.
But students said schools should be a bit more lenient when it comes to in-school suspensions, in which kids are required to come to school but are not allowed to attend their regular classes. Typically, in-school suspensions are meted out for less serious offenses, such as being late to class.
It wouldn't be fair, the students said, to give students zeroes in the classes they missed while in in-school suspension for such minor infractions.
Lassiter suggested that Chesapeake schools adopt a policy used by Granby High School in Norfolk, in which students who want to make up school work they miss while in in-school suspension are allowed to, but only if they take the initiative to get the assignments from teachers and finish the work by the end of the day.
``I feel this policy to be the most effective,'' Lassiter said.
Kathy Bunch, 17, a senior and vice president of Western Branch High School's SCA, said requiring students to take the initiative to get their missed work from teachers would automatically weed out the ``good'' and ``bad'' kids - good students would go to the trouble.
Students were divided on the issue of whether kids who cut class should be allowed to make up their work. Harrell said students should be allowed to, but only if they take the initiative. Marion McCarron, 17, president of Indian River High School's SCA, would take a harder line.
Board members said they would use the students' opinions when deciding grading and discipline policies in the future.
``I appreciate your comments,'' said board Chairman Maury Brickhouse. ``They are very insightful.''
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD by CNB