School Climate & Safety Series

Rethinking Discipline

Zero-tolerance policies, which require out-of-school suspension or expulsion for certain inappropriate behaviors, have become the go-to disciplinary approach in many schools. But research suggests some downsides: Such punishments may not change students’ behavior and are often meted out unfairly. These articles explore alternative approaches to suspension or expulsion.

Gilbert Orellana, a psychiatric social worker, answers questions from Angelica Lopez during a lunch detention group at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. Lunchtime interventions are among the strategies the school is using to reduce out-of-school suspensions.
Gilbert Orellana, a psychiatric social worker, answers questions from Angelica Lopez during a lunch detention group at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. Lunchtime interventions are among the strategies the school is using to reduce out-of-school suspensions.
Katie Falkenberg for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Suspended in School: Punished But Still Learning
Schools are using lunchtime detentions, Saturday schools, alternative schools, and other forms of in-school suspension to keep students on the academic track.
November 6, 2012
8 min read
Mentor teacher Sherilyn Waters, right, talks with her mentee, Sasha Inouye, in a kindergarten classroom at Kalihi Elementary School in Honolulu. Ms. Waters says classroom management is a topic that comes up frequently in her discussions with new teachers.
Mentor teacher Sherilyn Waters, right, talks with her mentee, Sasha Inouye, in a kindergarten classroom at Kalihi Elementary School in Honolulu. Ms. Waters says classroom management is a topic that comes up frequently in her discussions with new teachers.
Matt Mallams for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Classroom Management: Suspension Prevention
Some schools are cutting down on suspensions and office referrals by bolstering training in classroom management.
October 30, 2012
9 min read
Kenneth Thomas, a 7th grader, ponders a lesson in his PRIDE 101 class at Haut Gap Middle School. As part of the school’s approach to addressing behavior, all students take a course in how to be a Haut Gap student.
Kenneth Thomas, a 7th grader, ponders a lesson in his PRIDE 101 class at Haut Gap Middle School. As part of the school’s approach to addressing behavior, all students take a course in how to be a Haut Gap student.
Amelia Phillips Hale for Education Week
Student Well-Being At S.C. School, Behavior Is One of the Basics
With a special class on behavior and a strategy known as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, a Charleston middle school has found a way to reduce suspensions.
October 25, 2012
10 min read
Danny Perez, a 7th grader at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael, Calif., faces a court of his peers for getting involved in a fight. Kristy Treewater, the school’s assistant principal, sits by his side to monitor the student-run session.
Danny Perez, a 7th grader at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael, Calif., faces a court of his peers for getting involved in a fight. Kristy Treewater, the school’s assistant principal, sits by his side to monitor the student-run session.
Sarah Rice for Education Week
School Climate & Safety 'Restorative Practices': Discipline But Different
As criticism of school suspension grows, some schools turn to techniques aimed at teaching students to right their wrongs.
October 16, 2012
9 min read