Superintendent disputes claims that schools are warehouses, mini-jails
Charles Hallman
Staff Writer
The Minneapolis School Board last week approved a new district-wide discipline policy. The âBehavior Standards Policy,â which will take effect in the 2014-15 school year, âsets clear expectations, defines consistent responses and helps staff members find alternatives to suspensions.â
This came in response to an âalarmingâ suspension rate of one in five Black males annually being suspended compared to one in 29 White males, especially in the early grades. According to Minneapolis Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, who spoke with the MSR during a December 19 interview, a new policy is needed to help Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) close the achievement gap between Blacks and other students.
âItâs really about expanding learning time for students and reducing suspensions and out-of-school time, especially for our African American students and African American boys,â Johnson explained. âI am not saying that kids are creating an unsafe environment and leaving them [in school], and I am not sure I am interested in in-school suspension rooms either. But we have to figure out a different way of giving students a time-out and some space, and reenergize them back quickly into the learning environment.â
The superintendent also pointed out that the new policy may not be universally accepted at first, especially among teachers. âThere is going to be some tensions around this,â believes Johnson, adding that this might mean âa serious culture changeâ among MPS principals, teachers and other school staff as the new discipline policy is implemented.
âYes, it will require a real culture change, a mindset change and it will require a change in our accountability efforts in our support of schools,â Johnson continued. âObviously we will have to do some training of staff, and how we work with families in the community to help address these behaviors. But I believe it is the right thing to do.â
The new policy furthermore âis not just about the behavior of students but also about the adult behaviors,â said Johnson. âIt is not just about student discipline but itâs about behaviors in general, whether they are from a student or a staff [member] that allows this to happen in our classrooms. What is making these behaviors happen? What happens to trigger that behavior, and how can we address those triggers? Some kids act out just to get out of class or be sent home to get out of schoolâŠto go home and play on video games.
âThe policy itself is not going to change what happens but itâs the people who are implementing it,â said Johnson. âI will be tightly monitoring what happens around this work.â
Last weekâs board action came ironically a couple of days after a Sunday front-page published article in a local newspaper that said Blacks and other students of color are overrepresented in Minneapolis special education programs. Johnson, who was quoted in the story, told the MSR that she didnât disagree with the article that said almost 70 percent of MPS students who are labeled with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are Black, the largest percentage among Minnesotaâs 10 largest school districts, but failed to mention that her office has been looking into how EBD students are placed.

Photo by Charles Hallman
She agrees that too often Black students are mislabeled as EBD âand [it] feels like a life sentence⊠I do feel like if you have behaviors that are inappropriate and other kids have appropriate behaviors,â those inappropriate behaviors should be addressed, âand I do feel like we do have people who are afraid of our African American boys,â says Johnson.
âAnd in some cases, I believe some people think they are helping the student by giving the kid this label to get them the support that they need,â she explained. âThey feel like they canât help the student so at least if they are in special edâŠthey can get additional support. But I think thatâs the wrong way to think.â
Johnson added that some Harrison Education Center staff members complained to her that the article portrayed the North Minneapolis school in a very negative light. âThe disapportionality at Harrison, Crawford and River Bend, we do have more students of color who are EBD than White students.â
However, the article also didnât discuss the other nine districts with EBD programs, especially those who place EBD students in locations outside of the respective school district, says Johnson âWe try to keep the students in our community and not send them somewhere else. They didnât talk about these other districts and [their] EBD students.
âAs an African American superintendent, it concerned me [that the article] said we were warehousing kids, or [Harrison] is like a mini-jail. I will tell you [Harrison] is safe and orderly. I have been over there and I have seen instruction taking place. I just thought it was bad overall in the way it was written,â said Johnson.
Finally, Johnson says MPS next year will conduct a special education audit and review. âI am going to have a consulting group look at our special ed practices and give me recommendations on what we can do to change whatâs happening in our special ed programs overall,â she concludes. âBeing EBD does not mean you canât learn.â
Next: Johnson discusses the Minneapolis School Boardâs recent approval of her five-year enrollment plan.Â
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