Why suspension is ineffective

In many schools the most common consequence for a student committing a serious offense is suspension, however this causes more harm than good to the students’ education. Missing multiple days of school causes the student to fall behind in the curriculum, leaving them more likely to repeat the same offense in the long run. 

At NC the most serious offenses come from the lower grades. The lowerclassmen deans should prepare more events and assemblies for incoming freshman and sophomores. 

This will help give the new students a glimpse into the high school life and show them how drastically different consequences are from middle school to high school. This will decrease the chance of serious offenses being committed, 

Instead of deans focusing mainly on the academic progress of students, they should focus more on informing new students about the principles of being a high school student.

As opposed to suspension being the default punishment, other alternatives should be put in place for students to choose from. For example, anger management is a great resource for students who are dealing with built up anger as it gives them a different way to release their emotions.

Having more counselor visits can help students who struggle with showing up to class, completing assignments and have frequent outbursts. This alternative helps students because talking to their counselor can help them find the root cause of their behavior, while also creating effective solutions

Tools like these give students the ability to express their emotions and still be able to participate in classroom activities. Having these alternatives can help students drastically more than suspension, where students get behind in their classes and have a high chance of repeating the same behavior.