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Putting an End to the School to Prison Pipeline
One of the saddest phrases in American educational is, School to Prison Pipeline. The very concept that schools are actively sending their students to prison is so fundamentally contrary to everything...
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Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline: A New Approach
Previously, I wrote optimistically about Putting an End to the School to Prison Pipeline. I suggested systemic approaches to this horrific problem, such as implementation of Positive Behavioral...
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School Suspensions: A Failure to Educate
While policy makers and politicians debate school accountability and point fingers at various tools and causes, it is remarkable that the continuing upward trend to suspend ever more students,...
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Reforming School Discipline in Madison: Seize the Educational Opportunity
The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is currently engaged in drafting a new Student Conduct and Discipline Plan, with the school board’s goal of implementing that new plan in the 2014-15...
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Madison takes Positive Steps towards Improved Behavior Plan
The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) has issued its 2nd draft of its proposed new student discipline policy, which shows great improvement over the first draft. A feedback session for...
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Setting Goals is Critical for Effective Systems Change
Regardless of the type of systems change in which one is engaged, success can only be measured if goals for such change are established. A good example is the Madison Metropolitan School District’s...
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Put the Last Nails in the Coffin of Zero Tolerance
Tonight, the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Board will consider a so-called final draft of a Behavior Education Plan for possible adoption with proposed implementation in the beginning of...
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Weed Harvesting
Though I was an American history major in college, the best class I took was Practical Botany. During that class, I learned the definition of a weed. It is quite simple. Weeds are plants that are in an...
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Vague Goals Produce Vague Results
Three years ago, I wrote with concern that the Madison Metropolitan School District’s (MMSD) Behavior Education Plan (BEP), while laudable in its purpose to reduce suspensions and expulsions and...
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More Students Secluded and Restrained in Madison
When I helped to pass Act 125 in 2012 to document and regulate the use of seclusion and restraint in Wisconsin schools, one of the chief goals was to reduce the use of these aversive techniques. I...
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No Accountability? No Improvement
Earlier this week, the Madison Metropolitan School District released its latest Behavior Education Plan (BEP) data. Unfortunately, there are many troubling aspects to that data. The recently revised...
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