The literature on "what works" in disciplinary alternative education is inconclusive. Our current understanding of effective disciplinary alternative education programs is based primarily on quantitative data collected for administrative purposes. The voices of youth directly affected by disciplinary alternative education programs are…

Data have consistently revealed a major problem with disproportionality in several academic and social climate measures for African American students compared to their White counterparts. Black students tend to have lower end-of-course (EOC) testing scores in mathematics and reading, a greater tendency to be suspended from school, lower average…

Background: Suspensions can have negative effects on students' immediate academic and long-run outcomes, including increasing their likelihood of being arrested and incarcerated as an adult (Bacher-Hicks, Billings, Deming, 2019). School discipline practices have become a concern of families and policymakers and there have been increasing local,…

Across the country, many schools have adopted restorative practices in an effort to improve school climate and student outcomes while reducing exclusionary discipline. Restorative practices are designed to proactively build community, improve relationships, and help students amend harm when conflict occurs. Using 6 years of student survey data and…

Previous research has consistently shown that positive school climate perceptions have been associated with positive behavioral, academic, and social outcomes. However, much less attention has been given to factors that may influence school climate perceptions, particularly among high school students. The present study examined perceptions of…

The goal of every early educator is to prepare all students for school success--but for young Black children, entrenched biases and racial inequities have created an achievement gap that must be closed. Transform your practices "and" work for systemic change with this visionary guidebook, a comprehensive roadmap to promoting racial…

School safety continues to be a concern in today's schools, and comprehensive approaches to school safety are one way to address this concern. However, few comprehensive approaches have been rigorously evaluated. To address this gap, we evaluated the implementation and effects associated with Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS) comprehensive…

This research was a quantitative case study on the possible relationship between school climate, student behavior, student achievement, and classroom facility factors in an urban Midwest high school. Specific variables included lighting, wall color, classroom temperature, school climate, student behavior, and student academic achievement. The…

Across the country, school districts, their stakeholders, and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about suspensions, particularly about suspending students from elementary school and disproportionately suspending ethnic/racial minority students. Suspended students are less likely to graduate, possibly because they miss the…

This report presents the results of an exploratory study of suspension, discipline, and climate in K-5 and K-8 schools in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). The study was conducted between January 2016 and October 2017 by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) at the University of Pennsylvania, in close partnership with SDP…

Minority parents are less likely to engage in their children's school though they are not less interested in their children's education or less involved in their children's lives at home. This gap in parent engagement affects the educational success of their children and has significant implications for minority communities and states with large…

A substantial body of descriptive work documents large correlations between suspension and a variety of negative future outcomes, both for suspended students and for students who are never suspended but attend schools with high suspension rates (Balfanz, Byrnes, & Fox, 2015; Davis and Jordan, 1994; Dawson, 1991; Fabelo et al., 2011).…

To Educate All Children (TEACH) provides educators with intensive one-on-one training in classroom culture, focusing on de-escalation, conflict resolution, nonverbal communication, and building student's self confidence. Through intensive educator training, TEACH helps educators create safe, calm learning environments for students (TEACH, n.d.).…

The BRIDGE Alternative Middle School in Lowell, Massachusetts, serves students ages 12-16 who have exhibited behavioral problems in traditional school settings, including problems such as truancy, multiple suspensions, mental health issues, peer conflicts, family dysfunction, academic problems, and gang involvement. Students referred to BRIDGE are…

We used a comparative interrupted time series design to examine the impact of the Massachusetts' Wraparound Zone Initiative on student achievement, attendance, retention, and suspension. This initiative was designed to create coordinated district systems that allow schools to proactively and systematically address students' nonacademic needs. The…