When Heather Kiausas was seven weeks pregnant, one of her third graders punched her in the stomach.
After the punching incident, however, her school principal took discipline to the next level and suspended the boy for several days. Much later, Kiausas learned what might have been behind the punch. There was a lot of trauma happening at home [for the student], she wrote in an email. But we were not aware of these issues until months later, after the student was placed in another classroom.
Across the country, disciplining children by kicking them out of school, referred to as exclusionary discipline, affects kids as young as 3 years old. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education reported 5,000 preschoolers were suspended at least once, and 2,500 preschoolers were suspended more than once.
Research shows that when young children, many of whom are still learning classroom coping skills, are pushed out of school early and repeatedly, the impact can be irreversibly damaging. According to a Department of Education policy statement, children suspended in the early school years are 10 times more likely to drop out of high school, experience academic failure and grade retention, hold negative attitudes about school and face incarceration, than those who are not.
To read more of Sarah Gonser's article, please click here.
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