From the Mouths of Babes

Kids say the darndest things!  As adults, we often muse about this but it is very true.  What’s even more true is that we can learn a lot from the mouths of babes.

Speaking to our scholars is the most informative and fulfilling aspect of my job.  Whether it’s at a Lunch and Learn, during a community forum or while visiting classrooms, my scholars never cease to amaze me.  Here’s why.

Children are brutally honest.  During Lunch and Learn, I ask my scholars to share their hopes and dreams.  Their responses sometimes overwhelm me.  I have met future astronauts, lawyers, YouTubers, dancers and so much more.  These responses bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart.

Yet, some of my scholars simply dream of passing their current grade and hope to be safe at night.  Others dream of being successful and making a lot of money so that they can leave Selma.  These answers always lead to follow up questions from me.

In doing so, I learn that some of my scholars do not feel safe at home and others believe that our community is depressing.  Wow.  How does a third grader know what it means to be depressed? I dare to ask that very question which is really heavy conversation over a school lunch with classmates listening in.

My next question to these inquisitive and amazing young people is what do you need from your school.  This is where I lean in.

More computers, music classes, longer PE, more hands-on activities, and the list goes on and on.  I listen and I take note of this valuable feedback.  I share with members of Team Selma so that we can address the needs of our most important stakeholders.

In education and in life, adults are tasked with making decisions that directly or indirectly impact the lives of our children.  We often do this without including them. This is an enormous mistake as our children are insightful, intelligent and know much more than we give them credit for.

In Selma City Schools, we strive to keep students first.  Keeping students first means that their voices matter.  For that reason, we include our scholars on strategic planning teams, committees and even on interview teams. 

Recently, we included several of our high school and middle school scholars on our Student/Parent Resource Handbook committee and our Bullying Prevention Task Force.  Their input is brutally honest, valued and much needed. The results of these meetings will impact these scholars and their peers potentially for years to come.

If you want to know the truth, ask a child! Truly, from the mouths of babes as we listen, we learn and we grow.

For more information, email me at avis.williams@selmacityschools.org

The problem with zero tolerance

Ask anyone about what’s most important for schools to be considered “good” and student safety is sure to be one of the top responses.  A safe and orderly school environment must have an effective framework for ensuring students are engaged and supported while also addressing student behaviors that interfere with learning.  The challenge of creating such an environment led many schools and districts to adopt zero tolerance policies and practices.  This is problematic.

According to Farnel Maxime a Juvenile Justice Fellow for Shared Justice, “zero-tolerance policies were written into school handbooks in the 1990s, created originally to be a deterrent for bringing weapons into schools.”  Research has shown that schools that implement zero tolerance policies likely contribute to the school to prison pipeline.  It is critical that schools and districts explore other options for student discipline.

Did you know that a zero tolerance policy requires school administrators to hand down specific, consistent, and harsh punishment—usually suspension or expulsion—when students break certain rules? The punishment applies regardless of the circumstances, the reasons for the behavior (like self-defense), or the student’s history of discipline problems.  Because of this many critics call these policies “one strike and you’re out.”

The National Education Association (NEA) found that zero tolerance and other exclusionary school discipline policies, which were supposed to make schools safer, have done more harm than good—pushing students out of the classroom and into the criminal justice system at extraordinary rates. In the same report, NEA cited that researchers found no evidence that schools must be able to remove the “bad” students so the “good” students can learn.  In reality, when schools serving similar populations were compared, those schools with moderately low suspension rates had higher, not lower, test scores.

So what is the solution?  Creating safe learning environments is a priority for Team Selma.  At all of our schools and especially our middle and high schools, our teachers and leaders grapple with this on a regular basis.  For that reason, we are examining the school to prison pipeline.  We recognize that our scholars cannot learn if they are not in school. 

Our study will include researching alternatives to zero tolerance and alternatives to out of school suspension.  These alternatives will likely include restorative practices.  Next week, I will share some insights on this and how it may help disrupt the school to prison pipeline while also improving outcomes for our scholars.

Zero tolerance is not the answer for Selma City Schools.  We look forward to exploring this topic and learning ways to better support our scholars, teachers and leaders. 

For more information, email me at avis.williams@selmacityschools.org

What is the school to prison pipeline?

Recently, Team Selma was awarded a grant from the Black Belt Community Foundation, Truth Racial Healing and Transformation.  The purpose of our grant is to explore how we can disrupt the school to prison pipeline through literacy.  During the next couple of weeks, I will share our progress as we embark on this in-depth study.  First, let’s clarify the term “school to prison pipeline”.

According to the American Liberties Civil Union (ACLU), "school-to-prison pipeline," is a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. A large number of these children have learning disabilities or are products of generational poverty, abuse or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished and pushed out of school.

It is disturbing to think that our schools contribute to the phenomena of the school to prison pipeline.  Yet this may be our reality.  Team Selma is focused on examining our practices that prevent our scholars from reaching a level of excellence.  More specifically, which practices do we currently have that actually lend themselves to students of color being suspended or expelled at high rates compared to their white counterparts.

Although Selma City Schools does not have an explicit zero-tolerance policy, does this mean that our outcomes vary from the national statistics?  This is one question that our study will explore. 

Nationally, black students are suspended or expelled three times more than white students.  This is problematic because students suspended or expelled for a discretionary violation are nearly three times more likely to be in contact with the juvenile justice system the following year. 

Nationally, black students represent 16% of student enrollment yet 31% of school related arrests are of black students.  The statistics are even more alarming when we focus on our black males. 

So how does this relate to literacy?  According to the U.S. Department of Education, 60% of adults in federal and state correctional institutions are illiterate and 85% of all juvenile offenders have reading problems. Only about one-third of prison inmates have completed high school.

These statistics are staggering and create a true sense of urgency.  Team Selma is committed to gaining a better understanding of the school to prison pipeline while also ensuring that we are not a part of the problem.  If you are interested in learning more about our study or want to participate, please reach out to me. Let’s learn together so that we can improve outcomes for our community!

For more information, email me at avis.williams@selmacityschools.org