10/1/18 Student Conduct and Student Discipline Working Group #3 - - PDF document

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Student Conduct and Student Discipline

Working Group #3 October 2, 2018

Working Group Members

Working Group #3 Chairperson: Robert Thompson– Chesterfield School Board, Matoaca District Working Group #3 Members: Orlando Allen (Dale District) Carrie Aus (Bermuda District) Howard Corey (Bermuda District) Ronald Hall (Clover Hill District) Stacey Haney (Task Force Member) Tina Lao (Matoaca District) Lisa Mansfield (Task Force Member)

• Dr. John Murray (Task Force Member)

James Nankervis (Matoaca District) Holly Oehrlein (Dale District)

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Danielle Pierce (Task Force Member) Gena Reeder (Midlothian District) Delegate Roxann Robinson (Task Force Member) Donald Skeen (Clover Hill District) John Witherspoon (Midlothian District) Staff Facilitators:

• Dr. Chad Knowles (Coordinator for Constituent

Services and Student Leadership) Theodore Reynolds (Student Intervention Response Specialist) Lieutenant Jason Seamster (Chesterfield Police)

Objectives and Scope of Work

➢Chesterfield Schools Code of Conduct ➢Required by Law Reporting to Law Enforcement ➢Student Disciplinary Actions and Discipline Disparities ➢Alternative Approaches/Education for Student Discipline ➢Bullying Prevention – To Include Cyberbullying Prevention 3

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Meeting Dates

➢May 10, 2018 ➢June 27, 2018 ➢July 25, 2018 ➢August 29, 2018

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Meeting Presentations

➢May 10 – Overview Presentation(same as the one presented to the Safety Task Force) ➢June 27 – Promote Respect/Digital Citizenship- Mr. Bryan Carr, Coordinator of School Counseling Services, and Mr. Wes Dunnavant, Technology Integrator ➢July 25 – PBIS, RP, TIC, SEL – Specialists: Dr. Connie Honsinger, Dr. Lisa Micou, Ms. Jeanean Phelps and Ms. Erica Gervais ➢August 29 – Mental Health Support Specialists – Ms. Erin Krietsch and Ms. Catherine Ogletree

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Research Focus Groups

➢Code of Conduct/ Required Reporting to Law Enforcement ➢Student Disciplinary Actions, Discipline Disparities, Alternative Approaches and Education for Student Discipline ➢Bullying Prevention, Including Cyberbullying

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Recommendation 1

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➢ CCPS TO PROVIDE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION SETTING TO INCLUDE SUPPORT SERVICES

○ The working group recommends making improvements to the current Connections Academy Night and Connections Academy Day (formerly Chesterfield Community Academy) Programs so that our most vulnerable and troubled students receive the same level of education and scope of services available to children in a regular school setting. We would also recommend providing additional support services with the objective of having this alternative educational setting not only keep them

• n their current academic track but become a transformative experience that will

enable each student to transition successfully back into the traditional school

• setting. Members of the working group stated, “We strongly believe that these

students have not been served as comprehensively as they could be, and they are in need of close supervision and follow-up care.” These enhancements should include:

Recommendation 1, Continued

➢ Provide full day education components for Connections Academy Night and Connections Academy Day (formerly Chesterfield Community Academy) Programs in one location and provide transportation. ➢ Provide trauma-informed training for these educators so that they are uniquely equipped with the skill set needed to teach disruptive students. ➢ Offer mental health counselors and social workers, mentors and interventionists so that these students are receiving every available resource to treat their issues, and have these services follow them back into the school setting to help ensure a successful transition. We believe the alternative education program should be viewed as an opportunity to intervene with these students at a critical time in their social emotional development. ➢ Our group raised the issue and potential drawbacks of combining students deemed high risk for further suspensions with students who are identified as lower risk. While we were unable to draw conclusions at this time, we do recommend that CCPS examine this population of students and conduct an impact study that identify the risks and benefits in terms of influence these groups of children have on each other to see if further changes are needed.

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Recommendation 2

➢ INCREASE FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH STAFFING

○ We recommend that the county look at making the best possible use of the current counselors and consider the need for either additional counselors, psychologists or

• ther "intervention specialists" that could work with students with serious, time-

consuming needs. We are pleased that CCPS added two new mental health specialists as of last January and feel they are providing an invaluable service to

• ur students. We request adding to this team so that we have 3 specialists

designated for the elementary level, 2 for the middle school level, and 2 for the high school level to improve the student to mental health professional ratio and ensure that we have the necessary staff to address all the threat assessments filed. ○ We also would like CCPS to consider assisting current high school counselors with the use of outside resource teachers from local community colleges that can provide college/career prep or vocational training thus giving counselors more time with individual students.

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Recommendation 3

➢ PROVIDE EDUCATION, NOT SUSPENSION, FOR STUDENTS UNDER THE INFLUENCE ○ We recommend that CCPS tier students who are caught under the influence

• f controlled substances and address their needs with resources and
• education. We recommend that first-time offenders be required to attend

substance misuse counseling and/or classes at no cost to the parents and with transportation provided. The incident would then be removed from their

• record. A second-time offender would then face disciplinary action and be

required to undergo professional substance abuse assessment and be given a recommended course of addiction treatment. A third-time offender would be given suspension, directed to the continue studies in the alternative education setting (still receiving counseling and support services) but the matter may at that point involve police intervention.

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Recommendation 4

➢ INCREASE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS TO INCREASE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ○ We recommend providing principals, counselors, and PTAs/PTSAs with a list of programs that encourage parental and community involvement (e.g. WatchD.O.G. Dads, PTA, mentoring programs). We would also recommend requiring the administration at each school to implement at least three of these programs within the school and submit a report explaining which programs were selected, how they were supported, and any notable outcomes.

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Recommendation 5

➢ CONTINUE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PBIS, SEL, TIC AND RP ○ We recommend continuing the implementation of PBIS, Social Emotional Learning, Trauma Informed Care, and Restorative Practices consistently through all schools in Chesterfield County. Likewise, there needs to be consistent policy and training on other school matters (e.g. technology, discipline) provided to teachers and staff.

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Thank You

➢We appreciate the Task Force giving us this opportunity. ➢We appreciate the time and effort the members of the working group invested in this process. 13 Student Conduct and Student Discipline

Working Group #3 October 2, 2018