Dec 18, 2015
Reducing Disproportionality in
Suspensions and Positive Behavior Supports
Suzann WilsonLori Rogerson
Des Moines Public Schools
• Over-representation in DMPS suspensions
• Over-representation in juvenile justice system
• Over –representation in child welfare system
• Polk County Diversion Project
• Minority Youth and Families Initiative
Facilitator Training
• Pat Parker, NRC Staff
• DMPS Social Workers and Psychologists
• Part One: Knowing your Stakeholders
• Part Two: Relationship Building
• Part Three: Conducting Focus Groups
• Part Four: Making it Happen, Next Steps
Sample
• Minority Students with 1 < Suspensions
• Middle and High School Students
• Parent or Guardian Permission Obtained
• Parents of Students with 1< Suspensions
• Representative Population
Instrument
• Semi Structured Guide
• Questions and Probes
• Tool refined in collaboration with DMPS staff and University of Iowa NRC
• Consistent Across all Focus Groups
Questions• Let’s start with hearing, from your point of view, what
kinds of things school usually suspend students for?• Describe what you think is the main reason that schools
use suspension• Here’s some information that the school district and
community are particularly concerned about…• When a students is suspended, what do they do-what
does a day outside of school look like?• Tell me what it’s like when someone comes back to
school after being suspended?• What is one suggestion you want to make to the school
leadership for what they can do to make schools where African American and Latino students can succeed?
• Is there anything else?
Focus Groups Facilitation
• Co-Facilitators
• One Facilitator/One Recorder
• Groups Ranged from 1-3 hours
Focus Group Barriers
• Trust
• Frustration
• Child Care
• Schedules
• Unable to Provide Compensation
Focus Groups
• Student Focus Groups-5 high schools, 5 middle schools and 1 alternative building
• 81 Students Participated
• Parent Focus Groups-Held in high schools, middle schools and community locations
• 16 Parents Participated
Focus Group Data and Report
• Facilitators and Trainers• 2 Groups
• One to process student groups• One to process parent groups
• Findings and Recommendations to Generate Report:Reducing Disproportionality in Suspensions at Des Moines Public Schools: Findings and Recommendations from Focus Groups with Students and Parents
(www.uiowa.edu/~nrcfcp)
Focus Group Recommendations
1. It is incumbent upon the District to respond quickly to the request by participants for follow-up and feedback.
2. Suspension should be viewed as a process rather then as an action or event.
3. Teachers should go through a similar process.
4. District Administration and the School Board should participate the process.
Focus Group Recommendations
5. Plans for cultural competence training throughout the district should be made.
6. To ensure reduction in suspensions and disproportionality, separate goals for reducing the number of suspension and for reducing disparate rates should be set.
Background of PBS in DMPS
• Six years ago, buildings were asking for help with behavior– Began PBS in 1 MS and 1 Elementary– Training was provided for individual and
building-wide PBS– PBS is now implemented in 8 MS and 22
Elementaries
Original Goals of PBS
• Reduce or eliminate problem behaviors
• Increase academic success; recapture lost number of minutes teaching and administrative time
• School Safety
Six Major Ideas
1. Build Multiple Systems of Behavior Support• Different systems for different challenges
2. Invest in Prevention
• Build a culture of social competence• Define, teach, monitor, and reward appropriate behavior• Define, monitor and correct inappropriate behavior
3. Start with Administrative Commitment
• Top 3 Goals, Administrator on team, 80% commitment
4. Use Team-based Implementation
• No new resources (working smarter)
5. Adapt procedures to “fit” the context
• Implement sustainable practices and systems
6. Collect and use information for decision-making
SYST
EMS
PRACTICES
DATASupportingStaff Behavior
SupportingStudent Behavior
OUTCOMES
Supporting Social Competence &Academic Achievement
SupportingDecisionMaking
4 PBS Elements
Primary Prevention:School-/Classroom-Wide Systems for
All Students,Staff, & Settings
Secondary Prevention:Specialized Group
Systems for Students with At-Risk Behavior
Tertiary Prevention:Specialized
IndividualizedSystems for Students with
High-Risk Behavior
~80% of Students
~15%
~5%
CONTINUUM OFSCHOOL-WIDE
POSITIVE BEHAVIORSUPPORT
School-wide Positive Behavior Support
• School-wide positive behavior support is a set of systemic and individualized strategies for achieving social and learning outcomes while preventing problem behavior.
Does PBS also improve disproportionality of suspensions?
• Prevention: we need to have behavioral supports in place to set up students for success
• Teaching: we need to define behavioral expectations and directly teach them in all areas
• Systems: we need supportive systems in place to sustain practices with administrative support
“Suspension should be viewed as a process rather then as an action or event”
What does DMPS suspension data look like?
Number of Suspensions by Grade 2006-2007
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
PS KFirs
t
Secon
dThird
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seven
th
Eight
hNint
h
Tenth
Eleve
nth
Twelth
Nu
mb
er o
f S
usp
ensi
on
s
DMPS African American and Caucasian Enrollment
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Per
cen
t o
f E
nro
llmen
t
African American
Caucasian
Percent of African-American and Caucasian Students Suspended
27.60%29.60%
26.17%24.70%
12.62% 12.98%12.06% 11.43%
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007
Percent of Students suspended
% of African- American Students Who Are Suspended % of Caucasian Students Who Are Suspended
Relative Risk RatioWhat is the risk of suspension for African
American students, compared to the risk for Caucasian students?
African American students are suspended 2.16 times compared to Caucasian students.
Relative Risk Risk for African American Students:Calculation: AA Students suspended: 1,303.2470 All AA Students: 5,275.1143 Relative Risk: 24.7%
Risk for Caucasian Students: Caucasian students suspended: 2,228 All Caucasian students: 19,488 Relative Risk: 11.43%
What do we have in place/planned to address disproportionality of
suspensions?
• PBS support
• Karega Rausch
• Plan to develop goals and to put recommendations in place
PBS Support
• 31 Internal Coaches
• 12 External Coaches
• 31 Liaison Support Staff for Teams
• 10 Trainers
• District Leadership Team
• 2 Supervisors
• 1 Coordinator
Consultant: Karega Rausch
• Recommendations on:– How to infuse issues of inequity into the fabric
of PBS– How to develop data systems to know if we
are making progress• Measureable outcomes
– How to create a culturally competent PBS system
Targeted Measurable Outcomes
• Reduce suspensions and expulsions
• Reduce disproportionality in suspensions and expulsions
• Reduce office referrals
• Reduce disproportionality in office referrals