Melissa Caudle, principal of a New Orleans high school for behaviorally disordered students, has written a book on crisis-alert systems and confiscated loads of weapons. Her career has been devoted to helping neglected, abused, delinquent, and gang-prone adolescents. The school's program, which stresses personal accountability, conflict…

Instead of making suspension and detention the backbone of discipline programs, schools should try alternative learning centers operating on several different levels simultaneously. Centers can be inschool suspension programs or places where kids can take time-out, study, or voluntarily get their heads together. Centers are most effective when…