Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Rahm and Byrd-Bennett lied about shrinking suspension rate. It's worse than ever.

Rahm & Byrd-Bennett claim a 23 percent drop in suspensions. Really?
I didn't think it could get any worse. I thought the Daley/Duncan era of schoolhouse-to-jailhouse, Zero Tolerance and mass suspensions of African-American children in Chicago was drawing to a close. Why did I think that? Because the Mayor and his schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett told us so just yesterday and you know that Rahm and BBB always tell the truth. Right?
Byrd-Bennett claimed a 23 percent drop in suspensions districtwide over three years, from 46,803 in the 2010-11 school year to 36,046 last year. This school year, through January, suspensions are down 36 percent from three years ago, according to CPS.
It didn't take Catalyst's Sarah Karp long to deconstruct that B.S. She got hold of some confidential data which paints a totally different picture than the one being spun by CPS leaders.

Writes Karp:
The statistic that officials are playing up is a 23 percent decline in high school suspensions, from 46,000 in the 2010-2011 school year to 36,000 in the 2012-2013 school year. But the drop occurred at the same time that enrollment in traditional, district-run high schools has fallen by more than 6,000 students.

The enrollment decline in traditional school is a critical factor because of the simultaneous increase in students at charter schools--where CPS does not collect information on suspensions. Charter schools do not have to adhere to the CPS discipline code and often have tougher discipline than in traditional schools.

When asked about the current disparities at Tuesday's press conference at Wells, Byrd-Bennett said district officials have yet to analyze last year’s data and that she would not comment until she has “accurate” information.
Figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure...

According to the secret report, things are in many ways, worse than ever:

-- Among pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, suspensions increased 48 percent between school year 2012 and school year 2013, even though the Student Code of Conduct does not allow the use of either in-school or out-of-school suspension among young children.

--Every elementary grade level posted an increase in suspensions.

--Areas with predominantly black elementary schools saw the biggest year-to-year increases, while areas with white and Latino student populations stayed about the same or experienced a decline. The Englewood-Gresham, Burnham Park and Austin-North Lawndale areas posted steep jumps in elementary suspensions.

--Among elementary school students who were suspended, 80 percent were black in 2012-2013, compared to 76 percent in 2010-2011. In comparison, just 40 percent of students in CPS are black.

--Among high school students, 71 percent of those suspended last year were black, up from 66 percent in 2010-2011, according to state and CPS data.

Yes, you read it right. 80% of suspended elementary students were black. 

1 comment:

  1. Please somebody, tell Rahm to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face.

    ReplyDelete

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