This week the departments of education in Orange and Butte counties, along with UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools, announced a pilot program to develop a training curriculum based on multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), an approach to learning and behavioral problems in which students progress through a range of interventions depending on their need levels.
The program, which is funded by a $15-million grant that was part of the budget deal struck by Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature in June, will emphasize restorative justice, social emotional learning and other alternatives that prioritize mediation and building healthy relationships over traditional punishments.
However, it’s crucial that the program address all facets of school culture and student achievement, not just behavior and discipline, said Pedro Noguera, professor of education in UCLA’s graduate school of education and founder of the Center for the Transformation of Schools.
Noguera and others point to persistent racial disparities not only with suspension and expulsion rates, but also with test scores and graduation rates. African-American students are up to three times more likely to be suspended as their white peers for similar infractions. Meanwhile, more than half of all white students meet state standards for English and math proficiency while less than a quarter of African-American and Latino students do.
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