THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996 TAG: 9609260298
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 178 lines
Fewer than one quarter of the middle school students in the city are African Americans. But almost half of all middle school students given short-term suspensions out of school are blacks.
Information collected by the school division shows that blacks were disciplined at a higher rate in 1995-96 than some might expect given their overall population in the school division, a situation that is common throughout the nation, experts say. The complex reasons offered range from cultural differences to racial bias to the overrepresentation of African Americans in categories that put them at risk for problems in school.
In Virginia Beach, the issue was publicly raised late in the last school year when a group of African-American parents went before the board with complaints of disparity in treatment - both in discipline and the opportunity to participate in special, challenging programs. At that time, the division had no discipline figures by race, but the information has since been collected.
Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney says it is impossible to pass blanket judgment on who is right and who is wrong in individual situations based on the numbers. But he also says the numbers show a need for change.
``The point is, we're not dealing with each other very well, and we're lagging behind in the adjustments we need to make in dealing with children,'' Jenney said in a recent interview.
Among the data collected by the division:
African Americans comprise 23 percent of the students in high school but were 35 percent of those suspended out of school for one to three days and 40 percent of those put on long-term suspension or expelled.
At the middle school level, black students also make up 23 percent of the overall population but were 48 percent of the shorter, out-of-school suspensions and 44 percent of those suspended long-term or expelled.
When offenses for which students were suspended long-term or expelled are broken down by category, African-American high school students made up 72 percent of those disciplined for assault and 52 percent of those disciplined for behavior. Those are considered the two most subjective categories because their definitions depend on the observer. Some might consider a push in the hallway an assault, and others may not.
White high school students made up the largest group of those disciplined for those offenses for which the division has a ``zero tolerance'' policy, including possession of guns (67 percent), drugs or drug paraphernalia (69 percent) and alcohol (77 percent). For those offenses, a recommendation by the school for long-term suspension or expulsion is supposed to be automatic.
At the middle school level, black students were disciplined most often for behavior problems; they made up 58 percent of those expelled or suspended long-term for this offense. They were 52 percent of students disciplined for possession of a weapon other than a gun and 33 percent of those disciplined for assault.
The numbers come as no surprise to people like Gary Gottfredson, a Maryland psychologist with a special interest in discipline and classroom management.
``That is typical,'' he said by phone. ``That's typical for a school division.
``The question is: Why do they get in trouble more? It's almost certain there are a lot of reasons for it.''
Gottfredson contends that boys are more likely to be seen as discipline problems because they are more often out of their seats and more likely to be viewed as disruptive.
``It's just a plain fact a lot of what's called conduct behaviors today is boy behavior,'' Gottfredson said. ``Let's face it, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn would have been certifiable delinquents'' today.
When you add race to the mix, bias may also become a complicating factor.
``People tend to perceive the same behavior from black boys as more threatening,'' Gottfredson said.
Janis V. Sanchez, a professor of psychology at Old Dominion University, said there are complicated reasons behind overrepresentation of minority children in disciplinary figures. But she also believes at least part of the problem can be bias and misperceptions.
``There's no genetic reason African-American children would have discipline problems,'' Sanchez said.
Expectations for student behavior, and the consequences for misbehavior, are outlined in the Code of Student Conduct, which is handed out during the first days of school. Decisions on short-term suspensions are made at the school level, usually by an assistant principal. In the case of long-term disciplinary action, a recommendation is made to the central office. A hearing officer decides suspensions and a School Board disciplinary committee decides expulsions.
There is an appeal process for all disciplinary actions, with the potential for the full School Board to become involved in the more serious cases.
Board vice chairwoman Delceno C. Miles, who chairs the board's diversity awareness committee, said the discipline figures could well be one of the issues the committee examines.
``The glaringly obvious is, there's disparity,'' she said. ``Right now, we want to look at the figures and decide why there is such disparity and come to some sort of solutions.''
Board member Neil Rose, who serves on the committee with Miles, also said the figures could be fodder for the committee's efforts. However, he said that without further study it would be difficult to determine precisely what the numbers show. A small group of children who were repeatedly in trouble could be reflected in the information, he said.
``You can greatly skew things with a few people,'' Rose said.
And board member Rosemary Wilson said while teachers must not be afraid to discipline, the numbers warrant further study to ensure that all students were being treated fairly.
``I think we need to educate ourselves, make sure we're reacting the right way, make sure things are being handled the way they ought to be handled,'' she said.
Virginia Beach is not alone in its struggle with this issue. In Howard County, Maryland, for instance, concerns ran so deep that a special report was presented last January that offered a profile of the typical suspended student.
The suburban division of 39,000 students is about 80 percent white. Last year, African Americans made up 15 percent of elementary students but were 52 percent of those suspended. At the middle school level, the figures were 16 and 38 percent; at high school, 17 and 36 percent.
``It's a national issue,'' said the schools' public information officer, Patti Caplan. ``Along with an achievement gap, there's an overrepresentation of minorities on our suspension rolls.''
Howard County wants to look at the effectiveness of suspension as a disciplinary measure - particularly when educators are questioning the value of kicking kids out of the classroom who may most need to be there. They also want to explore a way ``to get in front of problems'' before suspension becomes necessary.
While they haven't found all of the answers yet, Caplan said, Howard County did determine that certain characteristics - including attendance, grade point average, gender and prior disciplinary action - affected suspension rates.
Experts say other factors, including low socioeconomic status and an unstable family background, can also contribute to behavioral problems that lead to suspension. But some of the African-American families that complained in Virginia Beach are firmly middle class and have two parents.
If all other factors are equal and minority children are still being disciplined at a higher rate, that should be cause for particular concern, experts said.
``You do want to have a consistent set of standards for all children,'' said Robert E. Slavin, co-director of of the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk in Baltimore. ``You don't want to have different rules for different groups.''
Jenney said changes are already happening in the division to make sure all students are treated equally. A position has been established at the central office to monitor and report statistics on student discipline, to develop staff training on discipline, to investigate parents' concerns about discipline, and to serve as a liaison between home and school.
The position, Jenney believes, will allow the division to be proactive rather than reactive.
In many ways, the city's schools are playing catchup with demographic changes in the community that have left some veteran staffers poorly equipped to deal with the students showing up in classrooms today, the superintendent said. While discipline must be enforced, the division must do what it can to insure it is enforced equitably.
``Public schools are inclusive of our total society,'' Jenney said. ``The bad news is, we lag behind in this inclusiveness.'' ILLUSTRATION: THE STATISTICS
African Americans comprise 23 percent of the students in high
school but were 35 percent of those suspended out of school for one
to three days and 40 percent of those put on long-term suspension or
expelled.
At the middle school level, black students also make up 23
percent of the overall population but were 48 percent of the
shorter, out-of-school suspensions and 44 percent of those suspended
long-term or expelled.
When offenses for which students were suspended long term or
expelled are broken down by category, African-American high school
students made up 72 percent of those disciplined for assault and 52
percent of those disciplined for behavior - the two most subjective
categories.
Graphic
Suspensions, Expulsions at Beach Schools
Short-term out-of-school Suspensions
Long-term-suspensions and expulsions
[For complete copy, see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS DISCIPLINE STATISTICS
STUDY BLACK STUDENTS AFRICAN AMERICANS
by CNB