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l WMW-MMzi.ml2-l \ 1 . ‘ i \ â€".. . . . 1 y â€" * 1 1 4 Alarm bells ‘ 4 . . ‘ 1 l O O O ‘ 4 High number of [K smpenswns Signal of deeper problem at board? ~ 1 BthtmcDrsuouo .. . schoolsystemâ€"whileparentsandboatds 1 (fhfv'lif‘fSlafT L} Lg: a; -. maybelesslikelytogetthemtheheipthey j .. “3" 11.1 a, “Q; Lid- ; need. i ‘ uring the past month the Chronicle 1 133333, ‘ “it. j ‘X’ttg; a; 3 _‘ Martha MscKinnon. executive director 1 i has explored the suspensions of IO $5,» ‘1 . it w” ~, M. of malice for Children and Youth Ontario. a j \ junior kinderganen students at the jg.“ A ' “ wig?“ Toronto-based. non-profit legal aid clinic 1 . Waterloo Region District School Board dur- 5. _, ’ specialhir'i‘sin protecting the rights ofthose ingthe 2010-11 school year. ‘ ' ‘ " facing co icts with the legal system. edu- 1 Ten students - eight boys and two girls cation, social service or mental health sys- i from unknovm schools â€" were suspended terns wow in. for everything from spitting and swearing to » “Some boards and parents are very ‘ violence against others. including teachers. reluctant to do the process that ideritiiies a i school staff and other students. child as exceptional until Grade 3.” MacKin- The I0 suspensions earned students a non said. “Not all kids require special edu- l combined total of l6days off. cation in lit. kindergarten or Grade 1 or 2, i The consequences varied drastically. classes are smaller." For example. a student who pushed In 2006. in a complaint against the another child into a shelf received a student Toronto District School Board regarding conference, call to parent and temporary implementation of the act. the Ontario removal from class Human Wis Commission said minorities But a child who spit. kicked. punched and children with special needs were sus- i i and pinched staff members, threw chairs .. pended in disproportionate numbers under _- j l and forced his classroom to be evacuated in; SaieSchools. j faced a three-day suspension but no other .. 3,” v“! edger _’.'. Reports in the U.S., U.l(. and Nova Scotia t i follow-up. , . ate: . flat; w.“ c: reported similar findings. with Nova Scotia 1 The only violent incident recorded which if. f ' " 34°“ ”7&4“ ; relating a ‘zero-tolerance' policy in 1999 1 l required a victim to receive first aid did not a». 355 . £53; “a overtheconcems. i result in a violent incident report being 59,94 $3 vi?” In 2000-01. 113,778 students were sus- i ‘ completed â€" despite Ministry of Education afif “â€" a}: i132;- pended province-wide, according to the requirements 515 . a; 5; Ontario Bar Association. in 2003-04, after ' M incidents which did not require first i; ‘ .;j w "a; in} Safe Schools implementation. the number i aid resulted in violent incident reports. a 33W; 551: 5 ' ,. rose to 152.626. Eighteen per cent were stu- With the exception of trustee lohn l‘ "1-753 “V" dentswithmPflonalities. l Hendry. the WRDSB declined to comment Without the proper supports in place. He did say there should be more consis- ‘Pamiiies that are educated and able to on the series. but the Chronicle spoke with Hutcheson said. students with special tencyin dolingout punishment. advocate on behalf of their children well. several education experts who said there needs that may not even have been identi- "There should always be some sort of are far more likely to be invited to meeting vii-more to the story. fled grow frustrated andactout. consistency,” Hendry said. “i know it's and punished less than the less advan- Nancy Hutcheson. vice~president of the “Which is really what you're talking somethingthe board'sawareof.’ taged,’ MacKinnon said. 'I would think as 3 [Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario. about when you have a strident that's frus- utrry Clifford. executive superintendent trustee they would want a report showing i said despite ministry regulations. suspen- trated and who.“ she said. “In K and at the Wellington Catholic District School whether it's a low income thing or a new domaren't always cutanddry. SKantofkidshaveneedsthathaven't been Boardaaidthere were no [K suspensionsin immigrant thing,’ MacKinnonsaid. Under the Safe Schools Act. a provision here identified.” hisboatdduringtheZOlo-ll yeah Without input from local school board also for mitigating factors and the use of According to the board's special educa- But the former principal and Waterloo administration it was dilhcult to gauge the j disaetion in doling out suspensions tion review report in 2010. about 2.000 sup- native said he did suspend a 1K student in true mvityofthe situation here. j Hutcheson said in the case of [Ks being port staff worked at the WRDSB's ll7 ele~ thepastforvioience. A number of questions remain about A‘ g stupended. often it would be a result of we mentary and secondary schools. helping He said the suspension tool had never whether or not the WRDSB has the funding 1 old needs that had not yet been identified. about l3.m0children. been a first choice for principals, with a to accommodate exceptional students, 1 She said the old education model was Hendry sits on the board’s expulsion: whole list of other factors playing In that whether low-income students or those new exclusionary, separating our students with committee. wouldn't appear in a typical suspensions to the country need more support or moonflities. “i don't think (five years old) is too report. whether afewkids just happened to setup “That's been changed to a more inclu- young,’ ikndry said. ‘One of the things we “Mitigating factors are a huge compo- The board's roundup of suspensions at l sive model, but when they changed they see with expulsion is when you look beck nent.’ Clifford said. "There's so much the end of the school year could help i didn't put supports in where they were at the records ofthe students here’s a lot of behind a suspension thatyou don't see." answer some questions but regardless, , needed.‘ she said. “We don't have the spe- times when you think maybe if something Research showed disadvantaged chil- input offered by experts suggestsWatet-Ioo's 5 dal education staff warty childhood educa- would have been done sooner, they would- dren and those with exceptional needs may lK student suspensionswere both an anom- t tors and child and youth workers)" n‘t be then} be more likely to face discipline within the aly and a sign of a deeper issue. i l -o,bes . ® Waterloolll,â€"'“-~l {3 "m ‘ ‘ 519 746 2777 ‘ , . . . Q 7 i ' "will.“ Drive at the Expressway i ‘ www.forboacu'o.com . ' “mm-“MIMIMVMY , . IN STOCK NOW! CALL 5l9-7461-81’77 To ARRANGE A TEST DRIVE TODAY WHarna VOL/D/v/i/E?’ .‘ ______________________â€"l__'