FAYETTEVILLE -- Shifting decisions about expulsions to a district-level committee has led to more options for students to continue their education in a different setting, a district administrator told the School Board on Thursday.
Kim Garrett, associate superintendent for secondary education, updated the School Board on the impact of changes during a workshop focusing on providing a safe, caring environment for students. Garrett also discussed the placement of school resource officers.
Expulsion process for Fayetteville schools
Principal recommends expulsion to Associate Superintendent Kim Garrett
Garrett organizes a team with two other administrators
The three-member team meets with parent, student and representatives from the school
Team rejects explusion, modifies the recommendation to an alternate placement in lieu of expulsion or expels the student
Appeals go to the superintendent first and then the School Board
Source: Fayetteville School District
In the 2014-15 school year, 20 students were recommended for expulsion. Seven were expelled for part or all of a school year, down from 13 the previous year, Garrett said. Of 13 recommended expulsions remaining last school year, the district-level committee rejected two, referring students for services within the schools. The committee modified the recommendation for 11 students so they could continue their education, Garrett said.
School Board Secretary Traci Farrah likes the changes and the alternatives, she said.
"Once you expel a kid, they can't go to another public school," Farrah said. "They're left on their own."
Students referred for expulsion may not have a parent who can stay home with them, and their families may not be able to afford private school, she said.
"I love the fact of trying to modify and work with these kids more and not get to that expulsion level," she said.
Up until last school year, decisions about expulsions went directly to the School Board, Garrett said. Recommendations for expulsion start with Garrett and are presented to a district committee during an expulsion hearing.
The committee has three options: to accept the expulsion, to reject the recommendation and return the student to school, or to modify the recommendation with an alternate placement in lieu of expulsion, Garrett said. Most students have been referred to Agee-Lierly Life Preparation Services, or ALLPS, but the committee also has the option of referring students with drug or alcohol issues to an Alternative Learning Experience Center in Bentonville, Garrett said. No Fayetteville students are currently in the program.
The Agee-Lierly school is an alternative educational environment for students with different needs during the day, and not for students with disciplinary issues, Garrett said. Night school at the Agee-Lierly school is the only option for students in lieu of expulsion.
The number of students recommended for expulsion last school year was small compared with the district's population of 9,600 students, Superintendent Paul Hewitt said.
"We've got great kids," Hewitt said. "That we are able to modify and work with saving so many even on that list is an astounding accomplishment to me."
Students who are most likely to be placed in another program are those who realize they have made a bad choice, Garrett said.
"They value education and don't want to lose the opportunity for a good education," Garrett said. "We look for alternatives for them."
Students who have a repeated pattern of serious violations that endanger themselves or others are more likely to be expelled, Garrett said.
"We still don't like the idea of them losing the opportunity for their education," she said. "We have to balance the safety for all of our students."
Five Fayetteville Police officers are school resource officers for the district, Garrett said. Officers Johnny Foster and Kevin Carroll are based at Fayetteville High School. Foster also works with the district's adult education program and Leverett Elementary. Carroll also is assigned to Butterfield and Happy Hollow elementary schools.
Officer Thomas Reed is based at the Agee-Lierly campus, but also works with Washington Elementary and Owl Creek School. Officer Elliot Luebker works out of Ramay Junior High School, but also is assigned to Holt Middle School and Holcomb and Asbell elementary schools. Officer Johnny Warren is at Woodland Junior High School, but also works with McNair Middle School and Vandergriff and McNair elementary schools.
School Board Vice President Justin Eichmann sees Foster sometimes at Leverett.
"They're not seen as enforcers," Eichmann said. "They're there to help and support and get to know the kids."
NW News on 11/06/2015