KALAMAZOO, MI -- Seventy-three students were expelled or placed on long-term suspension in Kalamazoo Public Schools in the 2013-14 school year, second most in Michigan after Detroit Public Schools, according to state data on students suspended for 10 days or more.

It is the highest number of expulsions and exclusions (long-term suspensions) for KPS in recent memory, more than double the 30 recorded in 2010-11. The 2013-14 statistics are the latest available.

"Kalamazoo's numbers are alarming, but you can't judge the numbers without looking into what's going on behind the numbers," said Luchara Wallace, a Western Michigan University assistant professor in special education who has researched suspension and expulsion rates.

One reason Kalamazoo ranks second in the state is the district's emergence as one of the state's largest urban districts. With almost 12,600 students, KPS is now the state's 13th largest school district and has the fourth-largest population of low-income students after Detroit, Dearborn and Grand Rapids.

"Other urban districts are losing students and Kalamazoo has actually gained," Wallace said.

For more on this article by Ryan Shek see this link: http://www.mlive.com/news/kala...ls_among_highes.html