Fairness & Effectiveness in School Discipline

The U.S. accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners – a strikingly disproportionate number of whom are poor people of color, especially African-American men. Recent research confirms that this propensity to “criminalize” large segments of the population extends down into the school years, with systematic overreaction to and overly harsh punishment of simple student misbehaviors. At the same time, the need for schools to be safe and orderly places to teach and to learn remains a major concern in poll after poll of parents, students, and staff alike. How do we teach discipline and maintain order, while protecting against the effects of persistent, unconscious biases? How do we ensure that schools are warm, welcoming, fair, and effective in the treatment of all students?

Speakers

Allison Brown, Program Officer for Racial Justice, Open Society Foundations.

Janel George, Senior Education Policy Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Janella Hinds, Vice President for Academic High Schools, United Federation of Teachers (UFT)

The session will be moderated by Burnie Bond, Director of Programs at the Shanker Institute.

This session was conceptualized and organized by the Shanker Institute and is part of the 2015 Teaching & Learning Conference organized by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Additional Info

• Twitter: @shankerinst @TeachLearnConf
• Session HT: #fair&effective; #TLConf2015