The “In School Suspension Redesign” states, “The In-School Suspension Program has been redesigned, enabling each school to have a dedicated teaching assistant. The teaching assistants will coordinate with classroom teachers to meet the needs of students on short-term suspensions while saving $1.2 million. This redesign will also enhance diversity of staffing in our schools.”

Will the ISS redesign have a dedicated teacher? How is the district saving $1.2 million? What does it mean when it says that the, “redesign will also enhance diversity of staffing in our schools?” Why would it? Remember, the ISS redesign is replacing the contracted professional services of The Center for Youth Services.

The “Neighborhood Schools and Transportation Plan” states, “Beginning this spring, we solicited the support of our State Legislature to help students be better connected to school with less time in transit and more time available for learning.”

A few sentences later we learn, “We currently provide transportation to all elementary students who live more than 1.5 miles from their school, but plan to begin providing transportation to those who live more than 0.5 miles from their schools.”

If the buses begin picking up more students we will either have to add more buses to maintain or lessen the current transportation time students spend on the bus or students will have to spend more time on the bus in order to accommodate the additional stops to pick up the additional students. Either way, this defeats the purpose of the neighborhood school.

One very important aspect of the neighborhood school is the communication and community building that takes place when caregivers bring their children to school. Their neighborhood may be unsafe now, but when they have to walk their children to school caregivers can demand that City leaders make their neighborhoods safe. This is how you grow a safe, productive community.

In School Suspension redesign and busing more of our children around the city is not a child centered approach to education.

Our children deserve a system of education that has as its focus, the educational success of all children.

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