Thompson: Economy's Impact On My School

After five years of economic growth, the suspension rate for our high school, which served 1,098 students, was down to one per day.   After five years of recession, student population was down by more than 50%, and yet we averaged an arrest at school every day.  We should have heeded the wisdom of James Earl Davis and Pedro Noguera, listened to the students about their expectations and provided enough social supports.  Then, the good times would have been better, and the declines would not have been so stark.  It is not rational, however, for teachers - in schools that do not attempt to provide intervention systems -  to anticipate the same outcomes that occur in good years will persist during hard times, and the gang wars that are made worse by economic downturns. - JT