CMS Slaps Gag Order On CMS
A new twist that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools implemented for the 2008-09 school year triggered a sharp decrease in long-term out-of-school suspensions, which tumbled to only 48 from 1,055 the previous year. Short-term out-of-school suspensions, by comparison, increased significantly, totaling 36,211 for the 2008-09 school year, a jump of 5,726.
Officials with CMS’ Alternative Education/Safe Schools Department declined to comment on the dramatic swing in suspension numbers, without permission from CMS’ Communications Department. In turn, CMS’ communications czars nixed an interview with officials from alternative education (so much for communicating with the public), instead issuing a boilerplate statement:
“CMS directed the Alternative Education/Safe Schools Department (AESS) to open an alternative to long term suspension center (also known as Alternative Learning Program or ALP) located at the Bank Street facility for the 2008-2009 school year. Long-term suspension is rarely used now except in cases where students at the ALP sites get into trouble or when students at their home school commit very serious offenses.
“According to the N.C. Department of Instruction, students who attend an ALP center such as the CMS program at Bank Street or Turning Point Academy have their out of school suspension coded as “ALP” instead of “long-term suspended.” ALP’s are not considered long-term suspensions because students are continuing their educational program there rather than being out of school. This effort helps our students who would otherwise serve longer suspensions and get farther behind in school. For the 2008-2009 school year, 1,014 CMS students served in Alternative Learning Placements.”
In other words, long-term, out-of-school suspensions fell so sharply not because CMS has wrapped its arms around discipline problems and restored order to classrooms, but because long-term, out-of-school suspensions are no longer called long-term, out-of-school suspensions.
No wonder CMS doesn’t want to anybody talking about it.
CMS data for the 2008-09 school year also showed expulsions on the decline, totaling 11 compared to 15 for the previous school year. But they’re not talking about that, either.
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