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Reducing Suspensions in Davenport Schools

principal Eric E Castro
/
Flickr

Hoping to reduce the number of student suspensions, the Davenport schools started a new "diversion" program last fall. And it seems quite successful so far - dropping the number in all grades by 30 per cent, and resulting in a 53 per cent drop at the high schools.

Spokeswoman Dawn Saul says their goal is to discipline unruly students, but as much as possible, keep them in school. So last fall the district hired five "diversion coaches" for the intermediate schools, and three "diversion teachers" for the high schools. 
She says the problem students are kept in school, going to class when possible, and working with the coaches and teachers.

suspens2.mp3
"I hear you're frustrated - what else can we do, what other choices can we make."

During the 2014-2015 school year there were a total of 3,000 in- and out-of-school suspensions for Davenport high school students, but with the new diversion program that number dropped to just 14-hundred last year. And Saul says there's been great feedback so far from both staff and students. 

 

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.