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Elementary student suspensions rise at Ottawa public school board

Elementary student suspensions rise at Ottawa public school board

Ottawa's largest school board is reporting a jump in the number of elementary students suspended from school last year.

In a report tabled Tuesday at a committee meeting of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, school board staff noted elementary school suspensions were up from 1,943 in the 2016-17 school year to 2,310 in 2017-18 — an 18.8 per cent increase.

Elementary school enrolment rose by less than one per cent over the same period.

There were 1,635 suspensions in 2015-16.

The school board cautioned it was still monitoring the increase and couldn't say what the reasons for it were.

However, it comes on the heels of statistics released earlier this spring that the number of "violent incidents" reported by staff went up 96 per cent in three years.

"Considering the increase in … what we've referred to as 'disregulated' or aggressive behaviour in classrooms, the data seemed to align with that," said Brett Reynolds, the associate director for education at the school board.

High school suspensions down

Schools in the public board meted out a total of 3,753 suspensions in 2017-2018, meaning 1,443 for secondary students.

"Over a five-year period, it is worth noting that student suspensions at the elementary level have continued to increase at a higher rate than elementary enrolment, while there has been a decrease in the overall suspension rate at secondary," wrote the authors of the report.

Boys were four times more likely to be suspended than girls, children with special educational needs are over-represented in the numbers and kids from low-income families made up almost half of the suspensions, despite representing only one in four children.

Joel Westheimer, the University Research Chair in Democracy and Education at the University of Ottawa, said the report suggests schools could be doing a better job of integrating kids.

"Kids from poorer neighbourhoods may not be as used to the kind of learning that is required of them from the early grades," Westheimer said.

"When we force kids to be in one mode of learning that doesn't fit all kids, this is the result we get: some kids who can handle it and some kids who can't."

Suspensions affect outcomes

The board's suspension rate, or the number of students suspended as a percentage of the student population, was 3.27 per centlast year.

While provincial data for that school year is not out yet, the Ontario average in the previous year was 2.7 per cent.

When a student is suspended, they are far more likely to be suspended again. - Joel Westheimer, University of Ottawa

Westheimer said he finds the rising suspension rate worrisome.

"We know from research, when a student is suspended, they are far more likely to be suspended again in the future and that their educational outcomes are going to decrease," he said.

Most are single-day suspensions

Reynolds points out the report found the majority of students suspended are only banned from class for a single day and do not get suspended again.

"It would suggest the plans put in place by parents, family and staff at school when concerning behaviours are identified and do lead to suspension are effective," he said.

"I think that's encouraging."

But the report does not identify year-over-year numbers and whether students suspended once in a single year are more likely or less likely to be suspended in another year.

Westheimer believes leaning on the suspension tool doesn't acknowledge what could be a much bigger problem.

"What we're really dealing with here is a school climate issue, and what has to be looked at is not only the behaviour of particular groups of children but also the school environment and culture and curriculum that's creating a situation where students are starting to act out."