Use the MEAL style system for in-text citations and sources used. Chicago Public Schools incorporates a wide variety of schools, the four main types being district schools, selective schools, magnet schools and charter schools. District schools accept every student that has residence inside the schools boundary lines. Selective schools require students to apply for a spot and there is not a definite chance that that student will be accepted. Magnet schools use both district lines and an application process in order to determine their tuned body.
Lastly, charter schools are schools create their own requirements for enrollment, and their own policies over all. Lately there has been much debate over the discipline policies at many Chicago charter schools. According to a Chicago Tribune article written by Noreen S. Aimed-Lash and Alex Richards, this year is the first time that charter schools have released the numbers of expulsions and suspensions and the numbers are quite shocking. Students who attend charter schools have been receiving expulsions and suspensions over 12 times more often than district run schools.
This article also states that the reason for these high numbers is because charter schools use discipline in order to improve their academic records. The high rates of expulsions and suspensions is just the start of the issue. “Last school year, approximately 75 percent of all suspensions were handed to African-Americans, a group that makes up about 41 percent of COPS’ student body'(Aimed-Allah 1). This article also shows that these charter school policies have led to an increase n chances of students misbehaving, dropping out and even going to prison.
These issues need to be changed immediately. Chicago Public Schools, especially the charter schools, need to reevaluate their discipline policies. These schools need to eliminate or cut down on out of school suspensions and only use them on very serious situations. Also, the deans or principals of these schools need to have a conversation about racial disparity and discrimination. Along with that these schools need to recognize what happens to these students after they are expelled.
I think it should be the goal of all Chicago Public Schools to keep as many students in school as possible for the good of the students educations as well as the community. Charter schools should incorporate some other kind of discipline mechanism in order to punish the students without expulsion or suspension. This way students will still learn their lessons without getting kicked out of school. At my high school we had something called Loss of Privileges or LOP. This was a step above detention but a step below suspension.
Students who received LOP lost their inch privileges, on campus parking privileges, and had to personally report to their dean before every period in order to show they were going to class. If students failed to report to their deans they would be assigned an alternative full day assignment accompanied by a staff member. I think that these charter schools should limit the number of students they expel and suspend. If they do this they will help keep kids in school and on the right track. These schools should also find an alternative discipline mechanisms to use on their students.
