One thought on “Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, tries new approach to school discipline — suspensions drop 85% « ACEs Too High”

  1. Richard Landolt

    Years ago I heard/learned from one of my “administrative” mentors that many times the reason a student “blows up” in your room is because that is the safest place for him/her to do so. They aren’t made at you, but rather at something else in their world that they can’t do anything about any where else without being verbally, physically, or emotionally abused. I have always held this close to my heart as a classroom teacher and a principal, especially now that I am at an alternative school. Although the school has strict “no tolerance” policies for attendance, academic progress, AND discipline, I have sought to find ways to stretch to provide “alternative” discipline options other than “out of school” suspensions.
    It is ironic to read about the CDC’s report on ACE trauma scores when I live in a bedroom community county of Atlanta, where the CDC is located, and my school is called ACE Academy (for Alternative Choices in Education). In my 6 year tenure here, I have been slowly but surely shifting the paradigm from the “kick ’em out/last chance/no chance” mentality to one that is more tolerant of what the student brings to the classroom that causes them to behave the way they do, that they are “in” trouble and “are” troubled.

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