Suspension levels for Black students are drastically higher than for their white counterparts. Some are hoping to halt suspensions for K-5 students.
| USA Today Network
Only a few miles separate the Rachel Freeman School of Engineering from Wrightsville Beach Elementary, yet these two New Hanover County elementary schools suspend students at drastically different rates. The latest state data shows Wrightsville Beach issued about three suspensions for every 1,000 students. Suspension levels at Freeman were more than 100 times higher.
To many, the racial composition of these public schools won’t come as a surprise: Wrightsville Beach’s enrollment is more than 85% white; Freeman’s student body is more than 80% Black. Districtwide, a Black student in New Hanover is nearly eight times more likely to be suspended than their white counterpart.
In recent years, New Hanover County Schools has taken steps to address these lopsided disparities, but some local residents demand more action. The county chapter of the NAACP is lobbying the local school board to pass an outright ban on suspending students between kindergarten and the fifth grade.
“After the murder of George Floyd, our school board issued a statement saying that we support humanity and taking care of all of our students,” said Peter Rawitsch, who sits on the New Hanover NAACP’s parents’ council. “All of that talk has not translated into any policy change, and here’s an opportunity for the school board to step up.”
A suspension ban for any grade level would be significant; education policy leaders weren’t aware of another North Carolina district that’s taken such a step. The proposed ban has the attention – and support – of some New Hanover board members and the local educators’ association. Yet others say a suspension restriction, while well-intended, goes too far.
As the 25,000-student district prepares to resume more classroom instruction in March, the potential for suspensions – which diminished during remote learning – will rise. How New Hanover approaches its suspension policy could serve as a model for the numerous districts across North Carolina that maintain their own stark links between suspensions and race.
‘I believe in childhood’
Before retiring in January, Nathaniel Johnson spent more than 23 years teaching second and fourth grade in New Hanover County Public Schools. During his career, he saw educators suspend students – mostly boys of color – for major infractions like fighting and minor infractions like repeatedly talking back and not following directions. Many returned to class only to repeat their behaviors.
Johnson, who is Black, felt more culturally responsive and restorative approaches could’ve more effectively de-escalated the tense school situations that often ended with students being kept away from school.
“I think we should have things in place where teachers understand the types of students they’re dealing with so the first thing won’t always be ‘Let’s suspend just to get them out of the classroom,” he said. “I just think that students need to be in school.”
An increasing body of research agrees, said Janna Robertson, a professor of education at UNC Wilmington.
“Rejecting children does not teach them how to behave,” she said. “It just gets rid of them. A powerplay from an adult has never taught a kid good coping strategies.”
A 2019 report from the Charlotte-based Center for Racial Equity in Education (CREED) found Black students were 5% more likely than their classmates to be suspended for “subjective offenses” like insubordination and disruption as opposed to “objective offenses” like fighting or bringing weapons or drugs to school.
“It’s often in response to behaviors that are discretionary,” said James Ford, CREED’s executive director and a member of the N.C. State Board of Education. “They’re not categorically violent behaviors but rather things that are left to interpretation of the (school) administration.”
According to state data from the 2018-19 school year, Black students make up around 25% of the North Carolina public school system yet accounted for more than half of the state’s suspensions.
The vast majority of these suspensions are classified as short-term – which can go up to 10 days. Most short-term suspensions are given to older students, predominately boys.
Still, some Wilmington-area residents see eliminating elementary-age suspensions as a step that could pay dividends in the present and future.
“It gives that child a better foundation, so when they get to middle school, they’re on the right track,” said Deborah Dicks Maxwell, president of New Hanover’s NAACP branch.
School zoning leaves elementary schools in New Hanover more racially segregated than the districts’ middle and high schools, making the suspension issue even more critical in the eyes of the local NAACP.
The group created an online petition which spells out its desire for the district to add the following line to its discipline policies: “In-school and out-of-school suspensions will not be used as a consequence for students in Pre-K and grades K-5.”
Perhaps no one has taken up the cause more than Peter Rawitsch. A retiree from upstate New York, Rawitsch rarely encountered suspensions during his career teaching first grade at a predominately white school. In the past few months, he’s spoken at board meetings, emailed local churches asking for support, and posted the district’s most glaring suspension statistics on Facebook.
“I believe in childhood,” Rawitsch said. “As a former first grade teacher, I have seen too many policies and programs that treat our youngest learners as little adults.”
The New Hanover Association of Educators, the local chapter of the state’s largest educator’s advocacy group, has officially endorsed the petition, as has at least one of the seven school board members: Judy Justice. A majority of board members – which is comprised of five Democrats and two Republicans – would need to approve for the elementary suspension ban to go into effect.
More: Cash for class: Asheville summer program pays students to combat COVID academic slide
Prospect of turning petition into policy
This year, the New Hanover Board of Education has gone through all its district policies – updating everything from staff social media use to student dress codes. In recent meetings, reviews of student discipline policies have led to “spirited discussions” over short-term suspensions, as board member Nelson Beauleu described it at the board’s Feb. 2 meeting.
At the meeting, some board members suggested an unequivocal suspension ban would inhibit the district’s ability to address rare instances when suspensions could be in order.
“When I was a principal of the school, we only used (suspensions) as a very, very last resort. I do think it needs to remain,” said Pete Wildeboer, a former elementary school principal in Pender County. “Suspending a child never made a lot of sense to me. You got to have it just because you have a situation where a fight, not a push, but a knock-down, drag-out fight, you do need to have that time.”
Asked by the board what a potential “last resort” circumstance might be, Julie Varnum, the district assistant superintendent of support services, said situations where students are exhibiting “pretty dangerous” behaviors could necessitate a “respite moment” through a short-term suspension.
Under North Carolina law, a district must suspend any student who brings a gun or bomb to school for a full year. In such extreme circumstances, a short-term suspension could give administrators time to learn more about what occurred before making a weighty decision, said Janine Murphy, assistant legal counsel for the North Carolina School Boards Association.
“They can adopt a rule that would ban the use of suspensions, but I would say that most school boards tend to leave options open so that they can deal with individual situations,” Murphy said.
Over the past few years, New Hanover schools have seen its overall suspension rates steadily fall. To help lower suspensions, the district has connected with CREED and the School Justice Partnership, a network of community stakeholders who promote keeping children in school through proactive interventions. Administrators have received more training on using restorative interventions, rather than punitive measures, to address student misbehavior.
“New Hanover County Schools is actually doing a better job than a lot of other places,” said Robertson, who serves on the local School Justice Partnership board.
This fall, New Hanover elected four new school board members. As one of the newcomers, Stephanie Walker has grown to better appreciate the complexities surrounding suspensions – both as a policy issue and a political one. While she believes in significantly reducing suspensions overall, especially in elementary grades, she worried demanding an absolute ban could alienate some educators and fellow board members.
“Everything gets done on consensus,” she said.
Before considering whether to “get rid of every single suspension” at the elementary level, Walker said she wanted to hear more from educators. The board will next convene for its monthly meeting on March 2, and as of now, the proposed discipline policies omit any language around banning K-5 suspensions.
Even if the suspension ban isn’t ultimately implemented, Walker said the petition has already succeeded in furthering the conversation on how all New Hanover schools can suspend less and suspend more equitably.
“We really went from not talking about it at all, to now having this push,” she said. “I appreciate the work that’s bringing this issue to the forefront.”
More: To rebound from remote learning, NC schools seek power to shorten summer vacation
Brian Gordon is a statewide reporter with the USA Today Network in North Carolina. Reach him at [email protected] or on Twitter @briansamuel92.
