Maintaining Connections

Based on the research detailed in our CAP proposal, Carter and Matthew decided to do additional research specific to Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) where Carter works and consider whether there were ways to address . Reviewing public information, we determined that PGCPS handles out-of-school suspensions similarly to DCPS and the numbers are comparable.  

We believe that suspended students, their families, the school, and the community are better served if a connection can be maintained with students on out-of-school suspension. Many suspended students are unsupervised during the school day due to their family circumstances, make little, if any, academic progress while on suspension, and suffer from the stigma of suspension and being permanently labeled a problem student. In this situation, the source of the suspended student's problems are often unaddressed and the student likely will fall behind academically. 

Action 

Our first action was to interview the principle at the middle school where Carter works and meet with the school's student support staff—counselor, parent-engagement staff member, student intervention and peer mediator staff member, and dean of students—to brainstorm ideas and gather feedback.  Matthew also spent the day at Carter's school getting a sense of the school and its atmosphere.

Feedback

The visit was very productive.  As a result of the visit, we learned several things:

• This is an important issue to everyone. out-of-school suspension (OOSS) is always the last resort, but the school must uphold the PGCPS conduct policy and ensure the safety of other students and staff.

• The days missed due to OOSS are excused absences and treated the same as other excused absences for making up work. Upon their return, the student has the number of days they were out with an excused absence to complete the work for it to be considered turned in on time.

• When a student is assigned to OOSS, the principal informs the student’s teachers and counselors. The school reaches out to the parents, but a significant proportion of the time, the parents do not respond. However, a number of parents may not speak English.

• Once a student is assigned to OOSS, the next systematic interaction with the student is upon their return from OOSS.

  • Student meets with their counselor before returning to class.

  • Student may also meet with others on the student support staff 

  • Student and teachers are expected to connect regarding missed work.

• During the OOSS, missed work is made available to students, but the student often does not take advantage of this opportunity.

  • The lack of 1-to-1 devices for students can be an obstacle to students being able to complete work while on OOSS because students may not have access to necessary technology at home. 

• There is no systematic process in place to reach out to students during OOSS.

• Using a third-party to assist is limited because the organization or person has to be vetted by PGCPS in order to be part of any systematic solution.

• Need to address student frustration because they do not understand why they were suspended or believe that they didn’t do what they are being disciplined for.

• Any effort to address needs to be collective and cannot be put on only one person.

We also discussed several ideas of how to address maintaining a connection, monitoring student work, addressing the social-emotional issue that may be the source of the problem resulting in the OOSS, and providing support to the family:

• A parent workshop involving at least counselors and parent-engagement staff

  • Would explain the OOSS process and how to be engaged with the school

  • Address social-emotional issues and available support 

  • Discuss methods parents can use to work with their student during OOSS

• Possible home visits

  • Home visits could be by various members of student support staff, but would likely need to be done in pairs. 

  • This can be a burdensome solution. 

  • Visits need to be documented, collaborative among the staff and with the parents, and should address a student’s transition back to school

  • An opportunity to make parents aware of resources available to them to assist and possible training for parents.

  • While teachers could not participate in home visits, possibly they could check in virtually with a student during their planning periods.

• Restorative justice practices could be used in conjunction with OOSS to help address the stigma, student frustration, and the possible social-emotional issue that is the source of any problem.

See Interview notes (restricted access).

Impact Assessment

The visit went very well. We learned a lot from the visit and interviews and also found that the school staff are also interested in finding ways to address the problem of OOSS.  The next step if for us to take what we learned, put together a proposal, and make a presentation to school leadership. If we can come up with an effective solution using the available resources, we believe that it will be sustainable.

Next Steps

We are interested in continuing to pursue this and will work towards putting together a proposal and presenting it to school leadership. 

References

Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). (2024). Student rights & responsibilities handbook: 2024–2025 school year. Prince George’s County, Maryland. https://www.pgcps.org/offices/pupil-personnel-services/student-rights-and-responsibilities-handbook