Days at home for a 'sassy mouth'? Not in St. Paul

Last update: May 17, 2008 - 9:38 PM

Children who misbehave shouldn't be rewarded with three days at home, said St. Paul schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen. They should have to work harder.

Carstarphen took charge of the St. Paul schools two years ago. One of the first things to change was the high number of children -- especially black children -- suspended from school. A deeper dig into the data found a lot of kids sent home for having "a sassy mouth," she said. It had to stop.

For a schools chief whose top job is closing the gap between how well black students do in school compared with white students, sending kids home wasn't acceptable.

"Kids don't drop out because they can't hack it academically," she said. "They drop out because they feel they're not wanted."

She found 15 schools that far exceeded targets for suspensions. A new focus and new strategies have cut suspensions at elementary schools and middle schools in half this year. High schools? Down 4 percent, and "I'm holding my breath," Carstarphen said.

Teachers and principals need to keep kids in class, she said.

"I was a teacher and I can honestly say that I never recommended a child for suspension, not in four years," she said of her days in Selma, Ala.

Did her kids never misbehave? "They misbehaved every day. But they didn't run me over. And I didn't send them home."

JAMES WALSH

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