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Robbinsdale Area Schools

ISAIAH Moratorium on Suspension Faith Dialogs with Robbinsdale and Osseo

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Unified District VisionRobbinsdale Area Schools is committed to ensuring every student graduates career and college ready. We believe each student has limitless possibilities and we strive to ignite the potential in every student. We expect high intellectual performance from all our students. We are committed to ensuring an equitable and respectful educational experience for every student, family and staff member, focusing on strengths related to:

Race GenderCulture Sexual OrientationEthnicity AgeHome or First Language AbilityNational Origin ReligionSocioeconomic Status Physical Appearance

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Goals of the Unified District Vision

1. Implement Policies and Practices that Open Pathways to Academic Excellence for All Students

2. Utilize Culturally Relevant Teaching and Personalized Learning for All Students

3. Engage Family and Community Members as Partners

4. Engage and Empower Students by Amplifying Student Voice

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Purpose

Our purpose is to collaboratively work together to find positive alternatives to suspension to eliminate the disproportionality of suspensions in Robbinsdale Area Schools.

Our goal is to continue to reduce the disproportionality of suspensions and improve academic achievement.

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Statement

• Robbinsdale Area Schools is committed to doing what is best for all students.

• We are committed to decreasing the number of suspensions and eliminating racial disparities.

• We believe wide use of suspensions is counterproductive to student learning and is a factor that supports the school to prison pipeline.

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DefinitionsDismissal An action taken by school administration requiring a student to leave

school for up to one full school day.

Suspension

In-School Suspension: An action taken by school administration to prohibit a student from attending classes for a period of time while remaining under the supervision of school staff during the school day.

Out of School Suspension: An action taken by school administration to prohibit a student from attending school for a period of no more than 10 school days. An additional five days may be added if exclusion or expulsion is being considered, or if the student’s presence will create an immediate and substantial danger.

ExclusionAn action taken by a school board to prevent enrollment or re-enrollment of a student for a period which shall not extend beyond one school year.

ExpulsionA legal action taken by the school board to prevent an enrolled student from further attendance up to 12 months from the date the student is expelled. TASC program is an alternative to expulsion.

2013-14 Student Behavior Handbook, pgs. 29-31

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Baseline Data

Total Suspensions White African

American LatinoAsian/ Pacific

IslanderAmerican

IndianMulti-racial

2012-131,999 364 1,244 158 31 26 176

2011-122,760 507 1,781 247 26 36 163

2010-112,397 471 1,541 236 24 32 93

There have not been any expulsions/exclusions for many years.

After the 2010-2011 school year, we overhauled the student handbook by reducing the severity of consequences to reduce suspensions.

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Graduation Rates, State/District Comparison

State Robbinsdale State Robbinsdale State Robbinsdale2013 2012 2011

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Graduation Rates 2011-2013

American Indian Asian/Pacific Islander Latino African American Caucasian

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Graduation Rates

American Indian Asian/Pacific Islander Latino African American Caucasian0

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Robbinsdale Graduation Rates, 2011-2013

2013 2012 2011

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Transformative Changes Based on Data

• New student handbook aligned with PBIS• Alternatives to Suspension Committee• District Equity Leadership Team• MSU Mankato Principals Institute• National Urban Alliance (NUA)• Beyond Diversity training for all staff• New principal evaluation• New teacher evaluation• Equity Specialists/Equity Teams• Data driven progress monitoring• Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS)• Civil Rights Research Tour and guest speakers• Student Equity Teams

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Courageous Conversations 6 Conditions

• Focus on PERSONAL local and immediate• ISOLATE race• Normalize SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION & multiple

perspectives• Monitor agreements, conditions and

ESTABLISH PARAMETERS• Use a “WORKING DEFINITION” for race• Examine the presence and role of

“WHITENESS”

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Secondary Principals’ 5 Agreements

• We guarantee an equitable education by radically changing an institutionally racist school system.

• We have the responsibility to guarantee all students, families and staff are valued and belong.

• We have the responsibility to guarantee a learning environment where all students and staff are held to high expectations and achieve at high levels.

• We must persevere with a clear vision and purpose to be a racially conscious courageous agent of change.

• We play a critical role in educating all students, thus every moment and interaction with a child impacts learning.

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Support Needed from ISAIAH

• Engaging ISAIAH, family and community members as partners

• Successful alternatives to suspension programs• Access to mental health resources• Forums to better engage communities• Navigating community racial equity dialogues• Funding to support the alternative to suspension program

– Parent outreach– Additional staff to better support students– Professional learning for certified and non-certified staff– Student “soft skills”/social-emotional development

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Questions?