Manitowoc Public School District Superintendent Mark Holzman says there is a “crisis in our buildings” when it comes to student behavior.
During the December 14th Board of Education meeting, Holzman had a presentation, where he showed the data regarding suspensions, both in and out of school.
Prior to showing the data, Holzman said that they take suspension seriously, and do not give them out without due diligence.
“It’s never our goal to eliminate students, and the opportunities of education,” Holzman told the Board. “We do everything we can to try to work through the process, but there are certain situations where we have requirements to suspend students, whether that is in school or out of school.”
On average, in school years between 2017 and 2019, roughly 187 students were given an out-of-school suspension for just shy of 536 days.
Compare that to what has happened in just the first quarter of this school year, where 92 students have been suspended for a total of 249 days.
At this rate, 368 students would be suspended for 996 days by the end of the year.
Holzman also had a slide showing why students were suspended, which included drug or tobacco possession, sexual assault, damaging property, and possessing a weapon.
“And so when you see the reasons in general why students are being suspended, it’s not because of small incidents,” Holzman said. “It’s because of endangering safety, fighting, disruptive behavior…”
Race does not appear to be a factor in which students are misbehaving.
The percentage of students suspended based on race is nearly identical to the overall percentage of students that comprise any particular race.
As for their plan moving forward, Holzman said that the District will be implementing a universal system of support at all of the schools.
This will help inform the students of what is expected of them, provide ongoing support for the staff, and to celebrate student successes.
The entire presentation can be viewed by visiting the MPSD website.
