New data from a Oak Park and River Forest High School discipline practices review shows that although incidents as a whole dropped 28%, Black students are still reprimanded far more than their white peers.
The data, presented last month at the district’s Committee of the Whole meeting, showed the number of incidents declined from 794 in 2023 to 571 in 2024. Despite this decline, the number of some types of violations, including behaviors that disrupt the classroom and using electronic devices increased. The latter alone jumped 85%.
Despite the district’s focus on equity, the disparities among Black students persist. According to the data, Black students made up at least 53% of those disciplined, compared with 32% for white students. The discipline rate for multiracial students, the next largest group, was 12%.
Black students also made up a disproportionate amount of out of school suspensions, or 13 out of 19 students suspended.
The committee of the whole acknowledged this data and said that next steps include continuing to use “proactive interventions that address trauma-impacted students.”
Curtis Diggs, a trauma-informed interventionist who works directly with students at OPRF High School, said he uses the school’s disciplinary data as a way to add students to his caseload. This allows him to check in with them weekly to review their attendance, behavior and grade data.
“The number one key to implementing trauma-informed responses is building authentic, trusting relationships with students,” Diggs said. “Historically, [Black people] in this country have been oppressed and marginalized, which has caused generational trauma from discrimination and racism. Helping Black students not just know but truly feelthey are safe, supported, and accepted is critical.”
One of the key goals of OPRF’s 2024-2025 Behavior Education Plan is to promote “teaching and intervention over consequences,” and is designed to help students return to the classroom while making them less likely to continue the same behaviors.
According to Vice Principal of Operations David Narain, the plan also takes into account Senate Bill 0100, which was designed to limit the amount of out of school suspensions.
Narain said in his experience attempting to address racial disparities in the past and digging down to the root cause, he found that students’ behaviors are in part connected to situations in their home lives.
“But of course, the incidents already occurred, so it’s going to be captured in the data, and that’s the difficulty, right,” he said. “We often don’t find out how to support the student until an incident has occurred. So, we are continually seeking out ways to be more proactive, and cast this net, so to speak, so that we have more information flowing to us about these students without profiling them from the beginning.”
In the plan, school officials also acknowledged that students’ school context may have contributed to the numbers. For example, they said, the pandemic “greatly impacted student behavior patterns” and “even four years later we are still recovering from the effects.” And, last year, three out of five deans were new. Hiring a new assistant principal to supervise them helped to implement the restorative practices the school relies on for discipline.
While vaping and smoking decreased by more than one-third, the behavior was ranked the third most common disciplinary incident. The school currently offers the 3rd Millennium curriculum, which is designed to help counsel students on the effects of vaping. The school also uses Way Back In, an organization that offers rehabilitation services.
“We know that those behaviors tend to have their root in some kind of social, emotional concern, and they try to get to the root of that and help the kids find healthier ways to address those,” Narain said.
He added that OPRF High School is also working to improve student behavior through programs such as Motivational Mentors, which is designed to facilitate activities for students and help them develop their social, emotional learning.
When it comes to addressing student concerns as they arise, “a behavior response lead would be asked to respond to that and they would more than likely develop a relationship and talk with them” he said. “…sometimes just redirecting conversation and teaching them that they can go back into the classroom and understand how to better exist in that space so that they’re not disruptive, is all they need,” he said.
