Preschool Suspensions

06/27/2016

The saddest day has gleams of light, The darkest wave hath bright foam beneath it. There twinkles o’er the cloudiest night, Some solitary star to cheer it.
Sarah Winnemucca, Northern Paiute author, activist and educator

In the 2013-14 school year 6,734 children were suspended from public pre-K programs according to an NPR report, "Why Preschool Suspensions Still Happen (And How To Stop Them). " Black children were suspended 3.6 times than white children.

Yale University's Walter Gilliam, who addressed the issue of preschool suspensions in the Turn Key Training video, "Addressing Challenging Behaviors, offers these reasons for the unacceptably high rate of suspensions for all students:

"Pay [for preschool teachers] in many cases is far less than you can get for even watching cars in a parking lot....

"It's not just about teachers earning a poverty wage. It's also about kids living in poverty and the effect that can have on their behavior. Children who live in highly stressful conditions or children who are exposed to lots of trauma — these children are going to be far more likely to be exhibiting behaviors that the teacher may not fully understand.

"Finally...most adults tend to see disruptive behaviors differently, depending on the race of the child. And we tend to hold African-American children as more culpable. And we think they're older than they are."

Gilliam points out what needs to be done about this:

"Two things...First, don't make suspension an option. Ban it in preschool. And second: Give teachers extra training and support."

Contributed by Kirsten Haugen.

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