Tuesday, January 20, 2015
My first expelled student: manifestation meetings and alternative day schools
There is a student in one of my classes who is incredibly disrespectful in a way that I have never before witnessed. She is rude to teachers, blatantly ignores directions, and disrupts the learning experience of her entire class on a daily basis. When she is not at school, her class is completely different; far more material is covered, the classroom is quieter, and there is less acting out in other students. I have never seen a class change so much when just one student is out. After my first full week experiencing this girl’s behavior, blatant disrespect and distraction of other students, she was expelled from school. After school last Wednesday she punched the principal in his chest. She has an IEP for ADHD, so on Friday afternoon, we had what is called a “Manifestation Meeting” to determine whether her unacceptable behavior was a manifestation of her disability. If that was determined to be the case, then most likely she would not have been expelled. However, the team decided that her increase in aggression was not a result of her ADHD and that she was capable of making these decisions on purpose. Thus, she was expelled and is being sent to an Alternative Day School. Typically, I tend to believe that there is always more that a teacher can do both personally and academically for students who are having manifestations of issues at home come out at school. However in the case of this student, she clearly needed more severe intervention. What do you all know about alternative schools? Does sending all of the “trouble” students to a single school make a difference? Or does it just sentence them to separation and failure for the rest of their school career?
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I went to school K-12 at schools in an independent school district (meaning there was one school for K, one for elem, one for junior school, and one for high school). At my junior high and high school, there was an alternative school: Robbins. Robbins had a menacing connotation, and it was generally the placement for "trouble". I was never sent to Robbins, and the fact that that phrase (being 'sent' there instead of 'going' there) is engrained in my mind speaks a lot for how the general population felt about the school. It was seen as a punishment to go there, leading me to believe that there must not be a lot of learning going on there if it was such a scary place to be. I can't speak too much to what an alternative school does on a regular basis, or whether or not sending all of the 'trouble' students to a single school makes a difference. However, I can speak to the fact that I think that the connotations associated with being sent to the alternative school can have detrimental effects - not only will students feel alienated socially, but they may lose confidence in their own ability to academically succeed.
ReplyDeleteLast semester in my special education placement I had a student who was under the same process. His actions were clearly a manifestation of his disability, but the general education teachers were frustrated of his behavior. He violated code of conduct for threatening a teacher, but it was deemed a manifestation of his disability. In this specific situation the student truly couldn't control his actions. He had high functioning Autism and didn't understand social norms. My special education teacher spent months fighting the school trying to prove moving him would do more harm then code.
ReplyDeleteThis specific student had very few previous incidences. He had other academic needs, but behavior was for his disability was not as much of a concern. I had the same concerns you had about what effects this would have on him as a student. I talked to my professor about it and she brought up a good point that still has me thinking. Putting students who behaviors aren't as extreme with students who's are very extreme can exacerbate their problems. Students, especially with Autism, are known to copy actions of others around them, while not understanding the social consequences. A student like Sam could of easily learned and blindly copied the intense behavior of the students around him. This is something us as educators need to think about. The question should always stand, what is best for this student’s education, not what is easier for us.
There is a school and I can’t remember the name for students with behavioral problems here in Nashville. For some students this is what they need. The one-on-one intense intervention personally made for their individual needs, but I don’t think that’s the answer for all students. We as educators must be careful to make the right decisions for our students, and to fight for the placement we believe will best
for our student.
My high school had an "Alternative Education Program" (AEP). I rarely heard about behavior as severe as what you're describing, though--most of the time you'd hear about kids being sent to AEP for things like sneaking alcohol onto school property or something like that (definitely "trouble" behavior, but not usually things that were threatening to other students). AEP was pretty mysterious to those of us who had never been, but what I'd heard about it was that you pretty much just sat silently at a desk and did work and/or read all day.
ReplyDeleteIn the case where a student actually poses a threat or significant distraction to other students, I think it is definitely beneficial to the OTHER students to get that student out of their learning environment. However, I highly doubt that most kids learned their lesson from being sent to AEP. Students with issues like that do need attention and people who genuinely want to help them sort through them. And I would think that they definitely need to be with peers in one setting or another. It's hard to say what the BEST solution for these kids are, but I doubt that most alternative schools are really effective in terms of fixing their behavior or mindset towards school.
Although I think in most cases we should strive for inclusion and keep kids in general education at all possible costs, this isn't always the least restrictive environment for children. As educators, we have to think about where the child is going to receive the services they need to be successful. If we cannot provide those services in the general education classroom, or in the resource room in a typical elementary school, I think alternative schools are sometimes the best option.
ReplyDeleteIn MNPS, there is an alternative school called Murrell that is SO COOL. Y'all I would teach there in a heartbeat. I want to completely push back that 1) alternative schools aren't effective in fixing behavior or academics and 2) that these schools can't be such HAPPY places. Murrell is unique because social skills are integrated into every single lesson. Every classroom is equipped with a teacher, a counselor, and probably a para. Can you imagine the positive support these kiddos are getting? Each classroom is a team and has a mascot and guys it's just GOOD. Ultimately, the goal is obviously to exit the kids back into typical schools, and sometimes it doesn't happen. But sometimes it does! And a lot of times, a place like Murrell is the only place where kiddos like Mary-Lloyd's could really get the support she needs and deserves.
I think if we're thinking of kids with behavior problems as 'trouble' students, or perpetuating stereotypes about alternative schools then we've already lost half the battle. Our students with behavior needs are just kids who need a more intensive version of support that we sometimes can't give them in the general education setting. They can get that at places like Murrell.
For some light reading! Here is an article on practices of effective alternative schools:
http://cecp.air.org/AIR_alternative_education_final_report_6-12-07.pdf
I wanted to add on to what Sally was saying by telling y'all that my boyfriend went to a sort-of correctional high school. He had had a great deal of problems with the public education system--partly because he was ADHD and they did not know how to help him with his disability, and partly because he was going through tough stuff at home and was acting out. This school was the best place for him because the teachers were loving and caring. Granted, he did get in a great deal of trouble with the other boys because they were all living in dormitories together--can you imagine all of those "troubled" kids living in the same dorms with little supervision? But their schooling was perfect. The school emphasized physical exercise, academic rigor, and spirituality. It was a private religious school started by a man who wanted to help as many boys as he could. He knew that there were so many who needed different supports than the public school could give them. So, he made a school for them and filled it with people who truly loved their students and knew how to inspire them to succeed.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying that alternative schools are always the answer, but sometimes they can be helpful. Some students need that extra support and as long as we can create a school that provides it, why not encourage those students to attend? My boyfriend was not expelled nor was he "sent" to the correctional school. Instead, his mom realized that the public school was not a good fit for him and found another solution. As long as we consider each individual student's personal needs, I think that alternative schools could be a blessing.