New Yorkers March Across Brooklyn Bridge and Join Over 20 Other Cities in Actions to Call Attention to High Suspension Rates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shoshi Chowdhury, Dignity in Schools Campaign-NY, 347-832-8391, shoshi@nesri.org

New Yorkers March Across Brooklyn Bridge and Join Over 20 Other Cities in Actions to Call Attention to High Suspension Rates

New York, NY - On Friday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m., New York City students, parents, teachers and community members will begin a candle light vigil and march across the Brooklyn Bridge carrying life-size cut outs of students, representing 260 number of students suspended every day in New York City public schools.  

“I am one of the many students who was suspended more than once last year and missed more than ten days of class,” said Estefan Peña, a leader at Sistas and Brothas United and a student at the Kennedy High School Campus. “I was suspended three times for conflicts with my peers and instead of having a mediation with the other students to resolve our conflicts we were suspended. Each time I returned to class from a suspension, I was further behind in my work.”

The march, organized by the Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York (DSC-NY), is part of the 3rd Annual National Week of Action on School Pushout, with communities in over 20 cities across the country holding marches, rallies, teach-ins and trainings from September 29 – October 6 to raise awareness about the more than 3 million students suspended out-of-school each year and call on states and school districts to implement positive discipline policies.

In the 2010-2011 school year in NYC, there were 73,441 suspensions. Over 29% of the students suspended, nearly 14,000 students, received more than one suspension in a single school year. The DSC-NY coalition is calling for a 50% reduction in suspensions by September 2013 and for citywide funding and implementation of positive, school-wide approaches to discipline that will reduce conflict, improve school climate and increase learning.

Last month, the Department of Education released a new Discipline Code that includes some positive changes proposed by DSC-NY, such as eliminating suspensions for minor Level 2 infractions, like using profane language, and calling on schools to use positive interventions like counseling and restorative practices to address these behaviors. 

Matthew Guldin, a member of Teachers Unite and DSC-NY, stresses the importance of using positive responses to behavior rather than suspensions. “School-wide restorative justice practices focus on helping kids and teens mature by teaching them much needed social skills,” said Matthew.  “Once our children are equipped with these skills they can better handle their emotions and deal with conflict, and in those instances where our kids still do act out restorative justice focuses on the person who did harm to another learning to take responsibility for his or her actions and looks for ways that the harm can be repaired.”

DSC-NY is calling for the Department of Education to go further by mandating the use positive interventions before schools can suspend a student for other behaviors like fighting, to end suspensions of more than 10 days, and to fund and implement positive school-wide approaches to discipline, especially in high need schools.

The march will start today at 7:00 p.m. at the Brooklyn entrance to the Bridge at Cadman Plaza and Prospect Street. Students, parents and teachers will march to Tower One for a press conference and speakout and then complete the march on the Manhattan side.

Members include: Advocates for Children of New York, American Friends Service Committee- NY, Brooklyn Movement Center, Center for Community Alternatives, Children’s Defense Fund-New York, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Coalition for Gender Equity in Schools, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Future of Tomorrow, Make the Road New York, Mass Transit Street Theater, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee, Pumphouse Projects, Sistas and Brothas United, Teachers Unite, The Sikh Coalition, Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC), Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Youth on the Move, and Youth Represent.

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#Solutionsnotsuspensions

Every March, the 11^th grade students in my U.S. History and Government courses spend five weeks working in teams on a “Moot Court” project that has become the seminal academic experience of upperclassmen at our school.  The teams read & research real First and Fourth Amendment Supreme Court cases and then develop arguments and present in front of guests “justices.” After eight years of Moot Court at our school, 11^th graders – almost without exception – take this project VERY seriously.

Two years ago, there was Moot Court team of four young men who requested specifically to be together, arguing that they were prepared to rise to the occasion and wanted the opportunity to be a good influence on one another and “prove everyone else wrong.”  This group of young men – Ivan, Jon, Ricardo & David – may have been a risky assemblage, but it was working.  By week four, they were still excited, focused and committed -- to editing and re-editing their briefs, to staying after school to read pieces of the Constitution to one another, and to telling each other how to make the best kind of eye contact when at the speaker’s podium.

But, just at the end of week four, only one week before the final presentations of their cases, three of these young men were pulled into a nasty, violent, inter-school fight with students from a middle school with whom we share a school building. The fight had been developing over several weeks and was the result of out-of-school turf tension around the two sets of projects across the street from our school.  All of the young men involved – about 10 total – expressed feeling little control in the events that led to this violent confrontation and appealed to the adults in the building to help preemptively mediate tension like this in the future.

Ivan, Jon & Ricardo never got to present in Moot Court. They were each given a 60-day suspension at an alternate site. David was left to present with a group that was not his own – a group that had never worked with him late into the evening on making the perfect eye contact.  Moreover, Ivan, Jon & Ricardo were never again as engaged at school as I’d seen from them during that Moot Court March: Ricardo, who was in line to be our senior basketball captain, felt forced to transfer to a school without a basketball team; Jon’s aunt sent him to live in New Jersey with distant relatives; and Ivan spent his senior year openly mistrusting every adult (and student, for that matter) in our school building. Even David, while not involved directly in the fight nor the suspensions, was listless for months, wondering about the hole in his life and his classes that was Ivan, Jon & Ricardo.

So, as educators, what did we give to these young men? A 60-day suspension and some transfer forms? We could have done so much more for this risky-but-working team who wanted so badly to prove themselves.

- EEM, 11^th & 12^th grade U.S. History & Government teacher in a small, public, non-charter school in the South Bronx 

STUDENTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST SUSPENSIONS AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HEARING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2012
Contact: Shoshi Chowdhury, Dignity in Schools Campaign-NY, (347) 832-8391, shoshi@nesri.org 

STUDENTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST SUSPENSIONS AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HEARING

New York, NY - On June 5, after more than 150 students, parents, educators, and elected officials rallied at a press conference demanding positive alternatives to high suspension rates in New York City schools, students with the Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York (DSC-NY) testified at a public hearing on the newly revised School Discipline Code before the NYC Department of Education at Stuyvesant High School.

“My brother got suspended because he got into a shouting match with somebody, and then after that he continued to get suspended, and now my brother dropped out of school, and he’s only 16,” said Aiesha Vegas, an 18 year-old student at Satellite Academy in the Bronx and a leader at Youth on the Move. “When kids are getting suspended and they come back to school and they’re behind, they feel more discouraged, and that’s why they end up cutting school, which leads to them getting arrested, and which leads to them not graduating,” she added.

The newly revised Discipline Code takes some positive steps to limit the use of suspension, but still lists 25 infractions for which middle and high school students can be suspended for an entire school year. There were more than 73,400 suspensions in the 2010-2011 school year alone.  

City Council Member Daniel Dromm, a former teacher who worked in New York City public schools for 25 years, also spoke at the hearing. “Despite the administration’s stated commitment to helping Black and Latino students this demographic still comprises a disproportionately high number of students hurt by our schools discipline system. The criminalization of our students must stop.  The focus should be on using the discipline system to address underlying issues that cause infractions in the first place.”  

DSC-NY is calling for a 50% reduction in suspensions by September 2013 and for the DOE to:
1.    End all suspensions for minor behavior infractions, like defying or disobeying authority, shoving or pushing, that are listed in Levels 1-3 of the Discipline Code.
2.    Require that schools use positive interventions before they can suspend a student, including for behaviors like fighting listed in Levels 4-5 of the Discipline Code.
3.    End long-term suspensions of more than 10 days.
4.    Fund and implement positive school-wide approaches to discipline in 10 high need schools, and in each of those schools designate and train a Restorative Discipline Coordinator.

“My brother got suspended for wearing a sweatshirt in school. He felt so targeted in that school that eventually he dropped out. Each suspension plays a role in the long run of students’ educational careers. When a student misses a class they miss important information needed to pass their classes; eventually it becomes easier to fail and drop out of high school,” said Adilka Pimentel, a member of Make the Road New York. “Schools need to implement and REQUIRE the use of positive interventions and alternatives to suspensions. I am worried that if these types of changes are not made that more students like my brother and sister will continue to be pushed out of school and not on the path to graduation.”

Visit http://stopstudentsuspensions.blogspot.com/ to read suspension stories posted by DSC-NY. Every day that we wait for the appropriate changes to the Discipline Code, 260 students are suspended.

The Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York is a coalition of students, parents, educators, civil rights, students’ rights and community organizations, including: Advocates for Children of New York, Brooklyn Movement Center, Center for Community Alternatives, Children’s Defense Fund-New York, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Coalition for Gender Equity in Schools, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Future of Tomorrow, Make the Road New York, Mass Transit Street Theater, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee, Pumphouse Projects, Sistas and Brothas United, Teachers Unite, The Sikh Coalition, Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC), Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Youth on the Move, and Youth Represent.
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Media Coverage:


http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/06/06/students-and-others-rally-before-discipline-code-hearing/ 

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/education/162534/doe-officials-hold-public-meeting-on-revised-discipline-code

http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2012/06/05/nyc-schools-proposes-reduced-suspension-and-progressive-discipline/ 

Education Not Suspension: Call to Action!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2012
Contact: Liz Sullivan, National Economic and Social Rights Initiatives, (646) 713-5288, liz@nesri.org
Shoshi Chowdhury, Dignity in Schools Campaign-NY, (347) 832-8391, shoshi@nesri.org

Suspension Crisis in NYC Schools; Students, Parents, Teachers Take Action

High suspension rates will continue unless Bloomberg and Walcott require positive alternatives to suspension in all schools

New York, NY - On June 5th at 5:30 p.m. the Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York (DSC-NY) will hold a press conference and rally outside of Stuyvesant High School with students, parents, teachers and lawmakers to challenge the latest draft of the NYC Discipline Code as not going far enough to address the disproportionate suspension of students of color. At 6:00 p.m., community members and lawmakers will testify at the NYC Department of Education (DOE) Hearing on the new draft Discipline Code.

DSC-NY is calling for systemic changes to significantly limit the number of infractions that result in suspension and to require the use of positive guidance interventions, like restorative approaches, in all schools. DSC-NY is calling for an overall 50% reduction in suspensions by September 2013.

Visit http://stopstudentsuspensions.blogspot.com to read a new suspension story posted by DSC-NY each day between May 22 and the June 5 hearing. Every day that we wait for the appropriate changes to the Discipline Code, 260 students are suspended.

What: Press Conference at Department of Education Hearing.

Where: Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers St, Manhattan

When: Tuesday, June 5th, 5:30 p.m.

Who:  Robert Jackson, City Council Member, Chair of Education Committee; Daniel Dromm, City Council Member, District 25; student, parent and teacher speakers

* Photo-op, protesters will be wearing t-shirts and holding colorful signs designed by high school students. Speakers will be available for interviews.*

The Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York is a coalition of students, parents, educators, civil rights, students’ rights and community organizations, including: Advocates for Children of New York, Brooklyn Movement Center, Center for Community Alternatives, Children’s Defense Fund-New York, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Coalition for Gender Equity in Schools, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Future of Tomorrow, Make the Road New York, Mass Transit Street Theater, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), New Settlement Apartments Parent Action Committee, Pumphouse Projects, Sistas and Brothas United, Teachers Unite, The Sikh Coalition, Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC), Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Youth on the Move, and Youth Represent
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J.M, 16, Satellite Academy in The Bronx

There was this one time when I was walking to class and the principal stopped me because I was not in uniform. My old school had a dress code that we were suppose to follow which were black / grey or khaki pants & a collar shirt of any color besides red, because of gang problems. I was suspended for 5 days; I was really upset and mad. Mad at the fact that I was suspended for such little thing. My mom came in and spoke about my suspension and she said " My daughter shouldn't be getting suspended for dress code, you could've sent her home and called me instead of taking it this far. " Days passed and I remained in a basement doing work with kids I didn't know kids that were misbehaving, cursing, throwing things around and disrespecting the teacher that was watching us.  This is unfair, this should STOP NOW!

                                                                                               

J.M, 16, Satellite Academy in The Bronx 

I.H. is 15 years old at I.S. 302

“My first suspension was in the first grade. I was suspended for fighting. A boy was talking about my grandfather [maternal], who passed away before I was born, and my mother. I told him to watch his mouth and then hit him. This happened in class before the teacher started teaching. The teacher was in the room and called security. They took me to the principal’s office and called my parents.”


I.H. is 15 years old and is currently at I.S. 302

                                   

J.C., Brooklyn Bridge Academy High School

“One of the times I was suspended was when I was in the 8^th grade.  This girl was going around talking about me so when I went to press her about it she hit me, so I started fighting.  Then we went outside the school and started fighting.  After we finished fighting she went back to the school and told on me.  So when I went back to school the next day they told me I couldn’t come back for 90 days and I got arrested. The most recent time I was suspended was in high school.  I got into a fight and they suspended me for 60 days. I don’t know what the other girl got.  But I got 60 days.”

 J.C. is 18 years old and currently at Brooklyn Bridge Academy High School