A long awaited audit of the disciplinary system at Oak Park and River Forest High School was unveiled Monday and concluded that discipline was administered fairly to students of all races once they had entered the school’s discipline system.
However, the report, undertaken 18 months ago by a state agency at the urging of local state legislators, suggests the school could do better in understanding cultural differences between student groups that might lead some students into the discipline system.
District 200 Superintendent/Principal Dr. Susan Bridge has long maintained that the school’s discipline system is not discriminatory.
She said the audit indicated that the school is meeting the goals of its code of conduct and said the school would work with administrators to implement the review committee’s recommendations. In terms of cultural differences, and suggestions from the audit committee that sensitivity training for all adults at the school might help, Bridge said, “We were already set to do that. Our developmental staff were having those discussions prior to the work (of the audit committee). In our school, those conversations, whether in large groups or small, are always ongoing.”
The report runs counter to concerns raised by some parents and members of APPLE (African American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education), who claim that the school’s African-American students are treated differently when placed in the system. APPLE leaders had no immediate comment on the audit results.
The unusual audit was conducted by the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education, a state agency, at the request of several local state legislators.
According to the committee’s findings, OPRF had “no difference in disciplinary consequences administered to students.”
“Once a child was placed into the discipline system, we found nothing to indicate that children were treated unequally,” said Bob Ingraffia, superintendent of the regional office of education. He noted the committee’s findings were based on data and interviews conducted with parents, school officials and advocacy groups.
The four-person review committee was made up of Ingraffia’s staff and outside consultants. they found that discipline was administered to students equally once students were placed in the system.
The committee reviewed between 50 and 70 individual student discipline cases, Ingraffia said. When discipline was handed out for such offensives as smoking, drinking or fighting, those consequences were evenhanded, he said. The consequences ranged from suspension to expulsion for certain cases.
The committee also cited the confidentiality regarding student discipline records as adding to a, “perception that consequences are not applied equally when specific information can only be shared with a parent or guardian,” the report stated.
The review took far longer than the initial two-month estimate by Ingraffia. The lengthy process was due, in part, he said, to late responses from some parents and students scheduled to be interviewed. The review team conducted an interview with a parent just a week prior to the report’s Nov. 1, release date, he said.
“We basically said, ‘if they took the time to call us up then we’d interview them’ even though it was after our deadline.”
The report was sent out to all invested parties on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The audit itself, however, has raised more questions from some of the very legislators who called for it.
As of Monday, State Sen. Don Harmon was the only legislator to have completely reviewed the 17-page report. The report includes a three-page summary of the review team’s findings, accompanied by a copy of the July 1, 2004 letter from legislators. No hard numbers of cases or statistics is included. The remainder includes various letters sent to invested parties. Ingraffia said Monday that what was completed and mailed on Nov. 1 is the complete report.
“I have some questions concerning the report as to their methodology,” said Harmon. “This looks more like an executive summary. As executive summaries go, it’s pretty extensive, but I’d like to look behind the curtain.”
Harmon early Monday said that the board should hold a second meeting to allow parents to attend and “to have a broader discussion with parents and community members.”
Spokespersons for State Reps. Karen Yarbrough and Deborah Graham said they had yet to see the final report, as of Monday. State Sen. Kimberly Lightford was reviewing the report, a spokesperson said. State Rep. Calvin Giles’ office did not return phone calls.
In a July 2004 letter to Ingraffia, Oak Park and River Forest legislators requested that the office look into disciplinary procedures at the school. The legislators specifically cited concerns raised by APPLE.
“APPLE alleges that unequal and uneven discipline is being meted out at the school,” the letter stated. “APPLE also alleges that teachers and administrators do not take adequate account of cultural and racial differences between students in the application of disciplinary procedures.”
Harmon said he’s encouraged to hear from parents and the community.
“I think the report validates concerns of parents and I hope this is the beginning of a deeper inquiry.”
Sensitivity training for faculty and staff
The review committee, appearing to draw a similar conclusion concerning the culture clash between some student and faculty, recommended “sensitivity and diversity” training to ‘all’ adult faculty and staff at the school.
The training would help all adult faculty “understand differences that may be viewed as disrespectful to individuals who do not have the same background,” the report stated.
Ingraffia said the committee did conclude through its interviews with parents and advocates that culture did play a part in the discipline process.
“Some things may be taken out of context and may cause misunderstandings between students and faculty,” he said. “With such a diverse population, everyone need to be more aware of the differences that we all face.”
The committee also recommended that the school take a closer look at its open-door policy, which allows parents and community to meet with administrators without any formal appointment policy. The committee does not recommend completely closing the door on open-door meetings, but suggested in its report that the “openness” interfered with the administrator’s ability to educate all students.
“We don’t believe that school officials should not meet with parents, but they shouldn’t be tied up speaking to one group of concerned parents at the expense of other parents who want their concerns addressed,” said Ingraffia. “There should be some kind of middle ground.”
APPLE officials had no initial comment about the report.
CONTACT: tdean@wjinc.com
Bob Ingraffia was scheduled to officially present the review committee’s report during a special session of the District 200 school board’s Tuesday morning finance committee meeting. Late Monday afternoon, Ingraffia was told by Superintendent/Principal Dr. Susan Bridge that the board had decided to reschedule his appearance. Dr. Bridge said she and a few other administrators received phone calls objecting to the early morning date. She said the decision to cancel the special session was made to give parents and advocates needed time to review the report and ask questions. The meeting will be rescheduled with the audit as a single item, said Bridge.
“We’re going to have one meeting, longer than an hour in the evening to pretty much do it all, to hear the report, ask questions about and have enough time for public comment” said Bridge.