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The Black child is 16% more likely than a White child who is not free-lunch-eligible
to be referred, suspended, or expelled. “Racial disparities are not solely a function
of differences in family income by race” (Gordon, 2018, para.16). In other words,
Black and Brown children living below the poverty line (or not) are statistically
more likely to be disciplined harshly than White children, including those who live
below the poverty line and those who do not.
Many times, zero-tolerance rules are the policies that school administrators rely
on for the practice of suspensions and expulsions. “Zero tolerance refers to school
Dr. Stacy Reeves, a discipline policies and practices that mandate predetermined consequences, typically
member of Alpha Gamma
Chapter in Mississippi severe, punitive, and exclusionary (e.g., out of school suspension and expulsion),
State Organization, is in response to specific types of student misbehavior—regardless of the context or
a tenured associate rationale for the behavior” (School Discipline Support Initiative, 2020, para. 1). The
professor in the School School Discipline Support Initiative (2020) continued:
of Education at The Although originally intended as a response to serious offenses (e.g., selling
University of Southern drugs or engaging in gang-related fights on school grounds) to ensure safe
Mississippi. Her focus
areas include literacy, and healthy schools, in recent years zero-tolerance policies have been applied
effective teaching, broadly to include minor offenses (e.g., talking back to school personnel,
international studies, bringing over the counter or prescription drugs on school grounds without a
and the development of doctor’s note, and coming to school out of uniform). (para. 1)
university-to-community In a vicious cycle, zero-tolerance policies remove children from the classroom
partnerships for
elementary education learning environment, which often leads to lower academic achievement, school
preservice teachers. Dr. dropout, and involvement in the juvenile justice system (Anderson et al., 2015).
Reeves serves on various According to Anderson et al. (2015) and the School Discipline Support Initiative
local, state, and national (2020), school suspensions predict higher levels of misbehavior and future
boards and has been state suspensions and often do not reduce the original problem because support services
president of Mississippi for the child are not usually built into the punitive discipline administered.
Reading Association and
of Mississippi Professional
Educators. Her work Problem Fact Two: Children Often Do Not Know How to Resolve Conflict
has taken her as far as Within the Classroom
an orphanage in Kenya Often, children do not understand how to communicate effectively and cooperate
where she worked with with their peers (Bibby et al., 2017). Blatchford et al. (2010) stated, “Relationships
the teachers of the Limuru are fundamental for effective group working: pupils often feel threatened and do
Children’s Centre, Limuru,
Kenya, and with the not understand how to work in a group of their peers” (p. 564). Interactions among
teachers and parents at all members of the classroom community are challenging in the best of times, but
Woodland Star School conflicts add stress to all members of that community (Wang et al., 2019). Academic
in Limuru. She has been success is frequently built on the social environment in the classroom, and when
a Visiting Professor of children are having conflicts with others or the teacher, their ability to concentrate
Literacy Education at on academics suffers (Malik & Rizvi, 2018). Oliver et al. (2020) stated students with
Linyi Univesity in Linyi,
China, and most recently behavior problems are at heightened risk of underachievement and school failure.
a Visiting Instructor As teachers spend class time disciplining children, they lose time that could be spent
at Shanghai Normal on academics.
University, Tianhua The Resilient Educator website gives insight into how conflicts in schools begin,
College, in Shanghai, stating that the “largest number of conflicts that result in violence often start as
China.
relatively minor incidences” (2018, para. 3). “Actions like a student using another
Stacy.Reeves@usm.edu student’s property without permission or unprovoked contact, for example, can
actually lead to major conflict. This indicates that few initial contacts are predatory,
but conflict escalates rapidly” (para. 4). Many of the children in conflict know
each other, often from their neighborhood, bus stop, or being in the same grade or
classroom.

36 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators