How to fix Duval's discipline problem, hint, it's not rocket science.

Duval County creates many of its own discipline problems!

If my face is getting blue I hope you will forgive me because I have covered this topic ad nausem.

Kids need consequences for bad behavior, and remember if it is not meaningful it is now a consequence, and if they don’t get consequences their behavior will likely worse and then like a virus their bad behavior will spread to other children who see they did not receive a consequence. Duval County does not like to give consequences for bad behavior and that’s why we have a discipline problem and it really is as simple as that.

I am not saying we have to drop the hammer but what we are doing definitely isn’t working.

There are two things we can do that would greatly improve discipline in our schools. First take the nearly million dollars we are prepared to spend on suspension centers or some of that QEA money we are spending on TFA and hire more social workers. We need to start address in the whole child if we want to have success with many. And yes I know there are social workers at the suspension centers but I also know 12 social workers would be better than 4.

Then we make ISSP mean something instead of the joke it is and always has been in many schools. Miss a day you stay in ISSP. Don’t finish your work or act up, you stay in ISSP. You don’t eat when the rest of the kids do and you get two bath room breaks one in the morning and one in the afternoon where all the kids go together and it doesn’t happen while other kids are in the halls. Then ramp up the days, instead of 1 day give them 5 instead of two give them 10. For a consequence to work it must be a consequence not just an opportunity to goof off with ones friends.

Come on Duval, this isn’t rocket science.