Data reveals thousands of MPS discipline incidents last year
MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - There are 310 pages in the report that details every incident in the Montgomery Public Schools system last year. When you add up the numbers there were more than 8,000 disciplinary incidents and just as many days of out-of-school suspensions handed out.
Of the 31,000 students in the district, some 4,000 were suspended at some point during the 2015-16 school year. That's 13 percent of the student population. Of those suspended, 833 were in elementary school! Twice as many were in middle school and high school.
Looking at the numbers, parents were disgusted.
"It's pitiful," said Aisha Griffin.
"Where are the parents?" added Shatara Lee.
While the numbers sound bad, they're actually down seven percent. In 2012, more than 6,000 students were suspended at some point during the school year.
"Across the board, it has decreased," said Dr. Margaret Jones, Exec. Director of the MPS Office of Learning Support. "And we want to continue that decrease to make sure that our children have the supports that are available to them."
Despite the improvement, school board members are surprised at where things stand right now.
"Total shock," said MPS Board Vice President Lesa Keith who has been passionate about discipline issues at several meetings. Even then, she says the board, including herself, haven't paid much attention when the reports are presented.
"This is all in a meeting that's two hours long and you spend maybe 20 seconds on this, and nobody actually goes school-by-school, incident-by-incident and lets you know that," Keith said. "Had you not brought it to my attention, I probably wouldn't have researched it as much as I have now."
For parents like Shatara Lee, MPS discipline is a big issue. She showed us numerous complaints she's filed with issues ranging from name-calling to death threats.
"I have spoken to the administrator, requesting phone calls," Lee explained. "I have pretty much, in a lot of instances, been blown off. I have to trust the school to protect my child when she's not in my presence. And I have no trust in the school. I have no trust."
When Aisha Griffin visited her daughter's classroom, she was shocked by what she saw.
"It's a large amount of disrespect. There's no type of order, no type of structure. There's no control." Griffin said
Both parents now say their concerns are leading them to pull their children out of MPS.
"My next step is homeschooling," Lee admitted. "Cause I have a son. He's not having the same issues, but who's to say that he won't."
"Well, I have actually started the process of putting her into a private school," added Griffin. "Although that may be costly, it's a sacrifice I might have to make as a parent to ensure that my child is in a safe environment."
It's not just students leaving the system over discipline issues. Keith says Superintendent Margaret Allen has voiced concerns to her about teachers leaving as well.
"She said 'Lisa, you don't understand the problems. We've got teachers that are missing. I can't keep them in their schools because the kids are a major discipline problem. They're cussing out the teachers. They're harassing the teachers," Keith said.
Supt. Allen was not made available for this report, But MPS officials credit the drop in student issues over the last five years to additional training and community partners like Montgomery police.
"We have instituted a social and emotional curriculum within many of our schools and in some of our other specialized programs," Jones said. "And we are also working to provide classroom management to teachers so that they understand, to see how they can prevent certain behaviors."
While some parents remain concerned, "I'm not getting any resolve here and it's just...it's too much," Lee said.
Officials stress Montgomery schools are safe.
"The safety of the students, staff, parents, anyone visiting the school is our utmost concern. We want to make sure everybody feels safe, however, if they feel unsafe, they need to tell somebody. See it, tell it," said Sgt. Jarrett Williams with the School Enforcement Bureau.
And as work continues on the discipline problem, parents are being urged to take a stronger role at home to stop problems in the classroom.
"We have supports available for parents," Jones said. "They often times need some support and guidance for dealing with their children at home, through our social workers or even through some of our intervention programs."
If you want to see the full 2015-2016 School Incident Report for Montgomery Public Schools, you can find it here.
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