South Bend high schools try to reduce suspensions, expulsions

Removal of students from the learning environment, Cindy Oudghiri, director of high school programs for the district, said leads to gaps in student achievement and is a no-win situation for both schools and teens. 

At Monday evening's school board meeting, the principals of all six high schools, including Rise Up Academy and South Bend New Tech, described the different programs and tactics being used at each school to reduce suspensions and expulsions.

James Seitz, principal at Adams, said there are now "tiered interventions," as opposed to a one-size-fits-all, zero-tolerance response, for dealing with student discipline.

"We're asking teachers to work with students in the classroom," Seitz said, "and call (their) home" to get their parents involved. There is a shared understanding of this goal, he said, by all of the schools' staff members. And, "we're not approaching kids in confrontational ways," he said.

Riley High School Principal Francois Bayingana described a positive-behavioral intervention approach called "PBIS," which is a framework of core values.