First HCS Town Hall Informative

HARRISON – As the end of a school year would have it, May 25 was a busy sports night at Harrison Community Schools. That was also the evening when the first HCS Town Hall meeting convened, and those sporting events may have affected meeting turnout. Regardless, more than a dozen people, including school educators, administrative personnel, a school board member, and several parents and students attended, as well as meeting moderator Judy Walton, HCS superintendent.

Attendees were provided with name tags, handouts detailing the HCS Student Code of Conduct, and a Chartwells treats and beverage spread.

Walton noted this was the first town hall meeting she had ever set up, and proceeded into a relatively brief introduction. She began by saying the school district exists to support learners and learning.

“That’s our primary job,” Walton said. “And we know that happens best when kids are in school and pursuing their education. So, our policies and practices are really designed to – any time we can – to address disciplinary issue as an opportunity for learning rather than as a punishment. That’s always our first go-to.”

She acknowledged that, for the kids, that likely feels like both learning and punishment but that, as much as possible, the focus needs to be on learning. Thus, the more kids can be kept in school, the more the things they need can be provided.

The next slide showed the Student Code of Conduct which Walton said is printed in each school’s handbook, adding that in it many, but not all behaviors are defined. That code of conduct applies while in school; on a school bus; at a school-sponsored activity or event [including participating in a sporting event at another school]; and anytime using a school telecommunications device, i.e., a Chromebook used at home or using a personal device via HCS network.

“Anytime there’s sort of a district connection, that’s where the code of conduct applies,” Walton said. She went on to say the school has very little control or governance of out-of-school behavior, such as has been seen over the past three years or so regarding cyber bullying about things that happen on social media in the evenings or on the weekends. Walton said there is very little the school can do about those things, in terms of consequence; and although there had been hope a Supreme Court Case would give schools more guidance, she said those “waters are still kind of muddy.” That means the infraction has to rise to the level of disruption at school or the making of an online threat.

“The goings on between kids, not so much,” Walton said. “In the law’s viewpoint, that’s for parents to handle if it doesn’t happen here at school. And they’re very reluctant to have us stand in the place of parents, except for when kids are in school, to consequence that.”

That led to listing the consequences which could be employed other than out-of-school suspension, based on the student’s offense – remembering the HCS philosophy of wanting to keep kids in school as much as possible. Those included an administrator/student conference or reprimand; conferences with administrator and teacher-parent/guardian; referrals/conferences involving support staff or agencies; daily/weekly progress reports; behavioral contracts; behavioral intervention plan; consultation with behavioral specialist; change in student’s class schedule “Snap” suspension for class period school/community service assignment; confiscation of inappropriate item; financial restitution; restorative circle or restorative conference; before- and/or after-school detention; social probation; or in-school suspension (half or full day).

Noting that each student is entitled to due process, Walton moved on to listing the range of out-of-school suspension disciplines which could be imposed. The building administrator can impose a suspension of 10 or less school days, and would be required to provide the student verbal notice of their suspected offense, provide the student opportunity to explain what happened; and have a reasonable certainty the student committed the offense.

The superintendent can impose a suspension of 11-59 school days, and must provide parent/guardian or student with written notice of their suspected offense; an explanation of evidence relied upon; opportunity for hearing to present evidence and witnesses – meeting the “preponderance of evidence” standard. The student then has the right to appeal the decision to the school board.

Walton then displayed the mandatory factors to be considered before suspension, including did the student possess a firearm on school property or at a school event, and if so, there is no need to consider the following statutory factors and the student may be suspended.

The Seven Statutory Factors included: Age of the student; Student’s disciplinary history; Whether student has a disability; Seriousness of the behavior; Whether the misconduct threatened the safety of any student or staff member; Whether restorative practices would be used to address the misconduct; and whether there is an intervention other than suspension that would address the misconduct.

Walton then clarified just what restorative practices entail:

-An approach to address conflict and misconduct that focuses on repairing the harm, and values accountability over exclusion.

-Assumes that misconduct and conflict injure those directly involved (victims and offenders) as well as the broader community to which they belong.

-Expects those who cause injuries to make things right with those they’ve harmed and with their community.

-A time-tested alternative discipline approach that keeps kids in school, demands direct accountability, and builds connections that help students succeed in school and life.

Walton’s last slide spoke to the town hall norms for dialogue, and the simple procedures of raising hand to show a desire to pose a question or opinion; listening as one person speaks; and being respectful of all viewpoints, regardless or agreement with them. It also noted that due to privacy laws, the schools cannot discuss individual cases.

Speaking to the school’s inability to share information about individuals, Walton noted the times when the parents of a wronged student simply want to know what was done about “the other kid”.

“I think it’s all out of desire for fairness,” she said. “So how do we get to the point we’re applying things consistently enough that people can begin to trust the process and the people to say, ‘I know they have a process in place, I know they can’t talk about it, but I trust that they can do their job.’

“I think that’s the gap we’re trying to bridge,” she said. “Some days there’s nothing more that I’d like to stand up and shout across ‘Here’s everything we did to that kid!’ But I can’t. Can I put my head on my pillow at night and go to sleep because I know we did everything that we’re allowed to do? Yes.”

Walton then cited the many times she had, as a principal, told parents she would never share things about their child and family, thus would not share with them things about another child.

“But I understand that desire to know, for fairness,” she said. “I get that. That’s just a basic human trait that we want to believe things are fair.”

An administrator present asked Walton what she had found in her experience that could be done about students who keep doing the same thing [misconduct] over and over. Her thought was that getting to those repeat offenders who aren’t doing anything “really bad” but keep pushing the envelope on the codes of conduct would be key to changing that path.

Walton liked that situation to an academic intervention, where the material had not yet been learned, so a different approach is taken. She said when the lesson is not learned or partly learned, the next step can be where consequences build.

“But I think also that’s where the partnership with parents is key,” Walton said. “We both need to be working on that, it can’t just be worked on in school – it has to be worked on at home as well. We can’t control what happens at home at all, we can only do our part in the seven hours they’re with us every day. But I think we never stop trying to involve parents. Is it a behavior coach; is it wrap around mental health services; what is it?”

Walton noted an instance at a school this year where the staff was at a loss of what to do about a student, and she had called in all the social workers across the district and had the building principal present it as a case study.

“We totally needed fresh eyes on it,” she said. “Now, we didn’t solve it, but we got some new ideas … I think we need to not hesitate to reach outside of our everyday place.”

She went on to describe a monthly meeting of principals where they can present a problem of practice in their building. They field questions and may be offered suggestions for further pursuit. Walton said that sometimes being too close to something can hinder seeing solutions, adding that in some instances, she has made herself available to simply sit with certain students who are having an ongoing behavior problem, allowing teachers to attend to the rest of their students without interruption.

“That’s probably a little outside the box,” Walton said. “But we know we have to make a connection with kids, and for some kids it takes longer to make that connection.

It was then noted that repeat dress code violations, vaping in the bathrooms and fighting offenders are abundant among kids between the secondary levels just “push” those boundaries. There also was concern about getting prepared for handling conduct issues in the next school year.

“I think we need more restorative training,” Walton said. “We also need more trauma training as a staff, which our principals are working on getting for those days in August.”

Walton related her experience being named a middle school principal, and her realization that she had to become the best listener she could – for kids.

“Because, usually, there’s something underlying that behavior,” she said. “And it might take a minute to get to, it might take months to get to – or years to get to. Again, we have seven hours a day with them, and you guys [staff] give up you’re A-game every day. And that makes a difference, a positive difference – you don’t always see it, but it does.”

A question was then raised about how the new bus behavior reporting system would work, and Walton explained that the driver can instruct students to sit down, change their seat, etc. and an when infraction calls for consequences beyond what is happening on the bus is entered into the system, it automatically goes to the building principal – in real time. She reminded that riding the bus is a privilege, and added that the new system will enable principals to be instantly aware of a problem, as well as helping to create a history of a child’s behavior.

“If all of your issues are on the bus, that tells me something,” Walton said. “Or if what I’m seeing on the bus is the same thing I’m seeing somewhere else, that tells me something. I know it’s going to be some training for the drivers because it’s not what they’re used to, but I think it does get us all on the same page more.”

She noted one of the current consequences is writing sentences, and ventured a guess that is not the effective tool it once was, and that the desire is to have the punishment fit the crime.

“Then the lesson can be learned if it’s tied to the behavior,” she said. “I make a mess in the cafeteria, I clean it up.”

Walton also spoke of the importance of expectations to be taught in the place: cafeteria behavior expectations taught in the cafeteria, hallways expectations in the hallway, etc.

A parent attendee said he had been told about high school students bumping buses with their cars, and Walton said she hoped the drivers were reporting those incidents to the principal, and that they should have been captured by security cameras. When asked the follow-up question about consequences for those student drivers, Walton said if she were the principal, they would probably lose driving privileges for a period of time, and likely would not allow them on the bus – resulting in inconvenience to parents for transportation.

“Because driving on our campus is also a privilege,” she said, adding that next year bus pickup will likely go to the back of the building, which would prevent those issues by separating cars from buses.

Walton said adults all remember being young and believing themselves invincible, but that invincible can turn on a dime into something very tragic.

These comments were followed by multiple audience members speaking with respect for the hard job bus drivers take on.

In closing, the superintendent encouraged those who had any questions to contact her via email at juwalton@harrisonschools.com.