Rochester school district's central office. Credit: FILE PHOTO

The Rochester school board has until its June meeting to handle an issue that has been festering for years: how to work with misbehaving students and their parents. 

Board members have received a draft proposal of a new code of conduct policy that aims to replace punitive approaches to discipline with restorative justice practices. For instance, under the new policy, disruptive students would be removed from the classroom via suspensions or police action only in the most extreme situations. 

Board members say that they will review the draft policy, hold at least one public input meeting on it, and hopefully vote on it in June. 

Work on the new policy began more than a year ago under former city school superintendent Bolgen Vargas, and included the involvement of a wide range of students, parents, educators, community groups, and activists. And there were numerous fits and starts before getting to the draft that’s before the school board.

Most recently, the board approved a new contract with the Rochester Teachers Association with language that struck many as insensitive, and maybe even contradictory, to the tone and direction of the new policy. Board members have tried to assure parents and students that they are serious about implementing a new approach to discipline. 

But the code of conduct policy is the sliver and not the infection; it is a piece of a much larger national conversation concerning race, mutual understanding, and human dignity. 

And it’s an extremely difficult, often polarizing conversation to have. Many, though not all, city school district parents, students, and activists believe that a root cause of the misapplication of harsh discipline, primarily toward black male students, is due to the racist attitudes of a largely white, female, and suburban teaching staff. Some parents and activists say that these teachers simply don’t understand the cultural fiber or the discriminatory experiences that many of students face every day.

Instead educating themselves about their students’ race, culture, and personal needs, they say, it’s easier for some teachers to just kick the troublemakers out of their classrooms. And many city parents have complained for years about being disrespected by teachers and administrators, and say that they don’t feel welcome when they visit their child’s school.

Numerous national reports confirm that black male youth are disproportionately punished compared to their white peers for similar infractions. Worse, these youth too often get swept into the criminal justice system and pay an inordinately high price for some of the rash things that many young people do.

But many district teachers see the situation differently. They see many students who are suffering from trauma from exposure to violence, drug and alcohol use, homelessness, loss of a parent or sibling to incarceration, or sometimes losing a loved one to an early death due to inadequate health care.

Some teachers say that the problem with disruptive behavior is not related to their lack of instructional skills, but more about resources. Many students who need social-emotional help aren’t receiving it, they say. And handling fairly constant disruption cuts into much needed instruction time, they say, and isn’t fair to the rest of the students.

The behavior problems, some teachers say, are contributing to the decline in student enrollment in city schools and factor into parents deciding to turn to charter schools or relocating to suburban districts.

This is a lot for any school board to handle, and finding ways to bridge the gap between the two sides won’t be easy. It’s naive to think that a new code of conduct policy alone will resolve such a complex issue, but it’s an important start.

This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2016.

I was born and raised in the Rochester area, but I lived in California and Florida before returning home about 12 years ago. I'm a vegetarian and live with my husband and our three pugs. I cover education,...

4 replies on “Conduct discussion in RCSD brings out deep-rooted issues”

  1. Dignity needs to be taught to teachers, parents, and students alike.
    Within the new code of conduct is a provision to train teachers in the Dignity for All Students Act.
    I believe the RCSD would be wise to bring Rosalind Wiseman to town to address how the use the concept of Dignity instead of respect.
    http://culturesofdignity.com

  2. Probably the most important sentence in this article is the very last one, i.e., “It’s naive to think that a new code of conduct policy alone will resolve such a complex issue, but it’s an important start.” The quoted sentence is important because it represents an obvious part of overall reality, but it’s also important because of the reporter’s possible, intentional downplaying, and ignoring the fact that the new code of conduct is not (in and of itself) the only component of “an important start.” As a matter of fact, the most important thing that happened at the May 28th Board meeting, which is where “Board members received a draft proposal of a new code of conduct policy that aims to replace punitive approaches to discipline with restorative justice practices” — is the fact that the Board voted unanimously to adopt a Resolution (#699), which provides for the beginning (later this month) of anti-racist education, and professional development for ALL Rochester City School District personnel — led by world renowned educator, and developer of the theory, and reality of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, and the Relationship Model of Educational Intervention, Dr. Joy DeGruy ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3JX7tHUTC… ). Before the Board voted unanimously to approve the Anti-Racist Professional Development Resolution, Board member Cynthia Elliott spoke about reasons why she is proud to support it. She had the following to say, which can be viewed at the video-link below (beginning at the 2:46:34 mark in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn3hCOrgoR… .

    “I’d like to make some comments around Resolution 698. That is the Resolution where we are asked to vote for the Contract for Dr. Joy DeGruy. Is that 699, OK — it’s [Resolution] 699 is what I’m told. I am very proud to support this Resolution. It is — It really does show a mild stone in this District. I guess we just worked hard, and we pushed this; we pushed this, and we pushed this — until now we are getting someone in here who really understands systemic racism, historical racism, and how racism, and historical racism, and Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome informs education. I am really excited about that. My concern is that — will we get it deep enough within our school system — to be able to have impact? And that is gonna require, madame Superintendent, leadership to really be on top of this. I’ll be there [at Dr. DeGruy’s upcoming first sessions, May 16th -19th] for one, full day. I’ve heard Dr, Joy DeGruy Leary a number of times. You can find her on YouTube, and if you read her book, some of it is difficult to read, and it’s extremely difficult to read, but those are the kinds of things that happened to Black folks for centuries. It happened to Black folks for centuries, and so I know that there are people — Black people, and white that don’t want to deal with this, but we have got to pull the scab back on this whole thing around racism, and it will get ugly, but once the scab is removed, and the puss comes out — then it can heal. And so people don’t want to talk about it, but if we’re going to change what happens in our prison system; if we’re gonna change what happens in our education system; If we’re going be able to change what happens in terms of employment — we’ve got to deal with this thing called racism. And I do see this as a significant first step — someone who is credible in the Black community — because we get these people, these white folks who do this research — without taking into consideration the African American consciousness. And this is going to be significant, and also Madame Superintendent, and I also believe Deputy Superintendent Otuwa is the leadership of this, and so I’m looking forward to this, but we can’t stop at Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary. We have to continue this on — such that this whole notion of racism, and understanding that the decisions that are made in the schools by teachers and principals — some of the statements that we heard from our parents tonight — I’ve been getting calls all week around that kind of stuff. So, until we’re able to infuse in the culture the understanding of racism, and how it plays — often times we don’t even know it exists. The system is so white that even Black folks are white racists, unless they get their minds changed. And so, it affects all of us at the detriment of Black folks, and at the support of white folks. We’ve got to change it — because if we don’t change it, we’re gonna have a system, a country that is divided. We don’t know, if we remove this whole thing called racism, the kind of creativity, and what can be contributed to society — where all of us benefit. We’ve got to begin to do that, and I think that this is a significant first step. I’m not [but] — there are people, and I know Howard Eagle is one that’s not afraid to talk about racism. I’m not afraid to talk about racism. We’re gonna keep it on the table until we make changes to it.”

  3. Dr. Cala would bring balance and leadership. The current leadership has not been progressive they have been passive…not endorsing anyone just because they are black…do your own research.

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