School board replaces in-school suspension with detention

School board replaces in-school suspension with detention

Tim Leeds [email protected]

The Havre school board Tuesday unanimously approved replacing in-school suspension with detention in an effort to reduce missed classes.

District Superintendent Andy Carlson told the board before its vote that many issues out of the district's control make students miss classes. Suspension is something the school decides on.

"It's absenteeism we can control," he said.

Kipp Lewis, Havre High School assistant principal, said when he came on board this year he worked with the faculty and staff about discipline. Most of the students who end up in in-school suspension are the ones having the most trouble in school, he said.

The recommendation from those discussions was to replace six hours of in-school suspension, held during class time, with two extended detentions after school, totaling about three hours.

"The key here is it's not coming out of our school time, our educational time. It's coming out of their personal time," Lewis said.

The other option was to have detentions on Saturday, which did not seem to be something the community would be ready for, he said.

Lewis said isolated incidents may occur in which a student needs to be supervised in in-school suspension, but that system generally will be eliminated.

When asked by board member Curtis Smeby if the process will be tracked to compare its results to the use of in-school suspension, Lewis said it would.

"I have a personal drive to make sure this works … ," he said. "I don't see why it wouldn't work."

He said the change in the program will not create any additional cost for the district. The same number of employees would be used in the change, he said.

Kipp said after the meeting that the teachers he had spoken to supported the change.

If any students are disruptive in the classroom, those problems will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, rather than simply sending them to suspension, he said.

(Join the Havre Daily News facebook page to keep up on local news at http://www.facebook.com/havredailynews.)

The Havre school board Tuesday unanimously approved replacing in-school suspension with detention in an effort to reduce missed classes.

District Superintendent Andy Carlson told the board before its vote that many issues out of the district's control make students miss classes. Suspension is something the school decides on.

"It's absenteeism we can control," he said.

Kipp Lewis, Havre High School assistant principal, said when he came on board this year he worked with the faculty and staff about discipline. Most of the students who end up in in-school suspension are the ones having the most trouble in school, he said.

The recommendation from those discussions was to replace six hours of in-school suspension, held during class time, with two extended detentions after school, totaling about three hours.

"The key here is it's not coming out of our school time, our educational time. It's coming out of their personal time," Lewis said.

The other option was to have detentions on Saturday, which did not seem to be something the community would be ready for, he said.

Lewis said isolated incidents may occur in which a student needs to be supervised in in-school suspension, but that system generally will be eliminated.

When asked by board member Curtis Smeby if the process will be tracked to compare its results to the use of in-school suspension, Lewis said it would.

"I have a personal drive to make sure this works … ," he said. "I don't see why it wouldn't work."

He said the change in the program will not create any additional cost for the district. The same number of employees would be used in the change, he said.

Kipp said after the meeting that the teachers he had spoken to supported the change.

If any students are disruptive in the classroom, those problems will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, rather than simply sending them to suspension, he said.

(Join the Havre Daily News facebook page to keep up on local news at http://www.facebook.com/havredailynews.)

The Havre school board Tuesday unanimously approved replacing in-school suspension with detention in an effort to reduce missed classes.

District Superintendent Andy Carlson told the board before its vote that many issues out of the district's control make students miss classes. Suspension is something the school decides on.

"It's absenteeism we can control," he said.

Kipp Lewis, Havre High School assistant principal, said when he came on board this year he worked with the faculty and staff about discipline. Most of the students who end up in in-school suspension are the ones having the most trouble in school, he said.

The recommendation from those discussions was to replace six hours of in-school suspension, held during class time, with two extended detentions after school, totaling about three hours.

"The key here is it's not coming out of our school time, our educational time. It's coming out of their personal time," Lewis said.

The other option was to have detentions on Saturday, which did not seem to be something the community would be ready for, he said.

Lewis said isolated incidents may occur in which a student needs to be supervised in in-school suspension, but that system generally will be eliminated.

When asked by board member Curtis Smeby if the process will be tracked to compare its results to the use of in-school suspension, Lewis said it would.

"I have a personal drive to make sure this works … ," he said. "I don't see why it wouldn't work."

He said the change in the program will not create any additional cost for the district. The same number of employees would be used in the change, he said.

Kipp said after the meeting that the teachers he had spoken to supported the change.

If any students are disruptive in the classroom, those problems will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, rather than simply sending them to suspension, he said.

(Join the Havre Daily News facebook page to keep up on local news at http://www.facebook.com/havredailynews.)

The Havre school board Tuesday unanimously approved replacing in-school suspension with detention in an effort to reduce missed classes.

District Superintendent Andy Carlson told the board before its vote that many issues out of the district's control make students miss classes. Suspension is something the school decides on.

"It's absenteeism we can control," he said.

Kipp Lewis, Havre High School assistant principal, said when he came on board this year he worked with the faculty and staff about discipline. Most of the students who end up in in-school suspension are the ones having the most trouble in school, he said.

The recommendation from those discussions was to replace six hours of in-school suspension, held during class time, with two extended detentions after school, totaling about three hours.

"The key here is it's not coming out of our school time, our educational time. It's coming out of their personal time," Lewis said.

The other option was to have detentions on Saturday, which did not seem to be something the community would be ready for, he said.

Lewis said isolated incidents may occur in which a student needs to be supervised in in-school suspension, but that system generally will be eliminated.

When asked by board member Curtis Smeby if the process will be tracked to compare its results to the use of in-school suspension, Lewis said it would.

"I have a personal drive to make sure this works … ," he said. "I don't see why it wouldn't work."

He said the change in the program will not create any additional cost for the district. The same number of employees would be used in the change, he said.

Kipp said after the meeting that the teachers he had spoken to supported the change.

If any students are disruptive in the classroom, those problems will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, rather than simply sending them to suspension, he said.

(Join the Havre Daily News facebook page to keep up on local news at http://www.facebook.com/havredailynews.)