Student Support Strategies

Dear MPS Community, 

In September 2020, the Board of School Directors passed a resolution directing the Administration to report progress and updates on discipline disproportionality on a monthly basis at the Parent And Community Engagment (PACE) committee meeting.

This work is aligned with the Five Priorities for Success with the vision of creating a positive school climate for all students. Schools utilize proactive strategies to support students and engage with alternatives to suspension when appropriate. Throughout the district, this data is utilized to strategize the best use of the resources at hand, servicing all schools with Tier 1 supports and focusing on those demonstrating a need for additional supports.

For the 2022-2023 school year, the Discipline Action Plan asligns coaching support, best practice, messaging, professional development and student voice to best support students and school staff members based on need. Specifically, across the district we will have the following understanding:

• Creating a positive school climate and reducing disciplinary actions starts day one with focused action steps at the beginning of teh school year and consistently maintained throughout the year.
• Alignment of work within the Attendance Improvement Plan to positively change school culture and climate for all students.
• Professional development and coaching for school leaders, school teams, and individual staff members is required.
• Monthly highlight of best practice within the Culture, Climate, and Alternatives to Suspension Toolkit with professional development and coaching. 
• Alignment and collaboration of district climate resources and messaging to support the most vulnerable schools, based on regular data review.
• Monthly data mining to continually identify schools and students of focus to ensure supports are aligned and focused on need

The following four focus areas will ensure district culture, climate and discipline are prioritized throughout the district.

Providing Proactive Supports and Interventions

• Providing coaching and professional development to school-based teams and individual staff members
• Improve classroom and school climate through 'universal supports' and best practices
• Six, research-based, best practices to address disproportionality
• Student mental health servies and support

Strengthening Student, Staff and Community Collaboration

• Student Discipline Committees, focus groups, and other methods to collect student voice
• Quarterly Community Conversations
• Develop feedback response system
• Recruit community organizations to volunteer in schools

Reconceptualizing the Role of School Leaders within Discipline

• Further implementation of alternatives to suspension and behavior interventions
• Utilizing restorative discipline
• Engagement with professional development and coaching and disciplinary process
• Engagement of Regional Leadership and school leaders with monthly data evaluation

Developing Staff Integration of Courageous Conversations about Race

• Facilitating Courageous Conversations about Race Explorations, LEADS, and DELT
• Providing district and school level book cohorts
• Addressing bias within vulnerable decision points

A 30-60-90 day plan has developed through October 31, 2022. At that time through the Plan, Do, Study, Act model an updated 30-60-90 day plan will be created to support school and district climate and culture.

Discipline Response Team

To support schools across the district building positive climate and culture, a Discipline Response Team has been craeted to align staff members on a variety of district teams. The following teams are supporting culture, climate and discipline:

• PBIS
• Restorative Practices
• Violence Prevention Program
• Black and Latino Male Achievement (BLMA)
• Equity, Access and Inclusion
• Gender and Identity Inclusion 
• Specialized Services

Upcoming Dates

• Student Leadership Summit --> October 25, 2022
• Community Conversation --> November 9, 2022 Register Here
• Community Conversation --> January 11, 2023 Register Here
• Community Conversation --> March 15, 2023 Register Here
• Community Conversation --> May 17, 2023 Register Here
• Student Leadership Summit --> April 20, 2023

Resources

District & School Climate

• Culture, Climate and Alternatives to Suspension Toolkit
• Directory of Support
• Discipline Disproportionality Processes Guide
• Research based best practices to address disproportionality
• Rights & Responsibilities Handbook

Professional Development: Self-Paced Modules

• Discipline Disproportionality Modules
• Antiracism Modules
• Culturally Responsive Problem Solving for Teams Modules

Resources for Families- Digital Citizenship

• Parents Act Now! Bullying Prevention (from Children's Wisconsin)
• Cyberbullying resources (National Crime Prevention Council)
• Cyberbullying and digital citzenship lessons and activities (Cyberbullying Research Center)
• Teaching Digital Citizenship (Common Sense Education)
• Additional Support- contact your school counselor or principal

Student Voice 

All traditional middle and high schools have a Student Discipline Committee that meets twice per month to discuss student recommendations regarding school climate and culture. Annually there are also two Student Leadership Summits in which these discussions are highlighted across the district. 

From the 2021-2022 school year, the major themes of these conversations included:

• School spirit and extra-curricular activities
• Continued community building
• Academic engagement
• Access to mental health supports
• Student leadership opportunities

Courageous Conversations about Race

In our vision of addressing discipline disproportionality, Milwaukee Public Schools is partnering with Coureageous Conversations about Race to build racial equity throughout the district. Courageous Conversation is utilzing the Four Agreements, Six Conditions and Compass in order to engage, sustain, and deepen intra-racial and inter-racial dialogue about race, and is an essential foundation for examining and addressing institutionalized culture and structures that promote racial disparities.

Through this collaboration, all MPS staff members are attending their one-day seminar Courageous Conversations about Race Exploration in which participants learn about the tools within the framework including the Four Agreements, Six Conditions and Compass. Participants engage in whole group and small group discussions on a variety of topics utilizing these tools.  A district team has partnered with mentors at Courageous Conversations about Race and have become certified practitioners and facilitators, licensed to conduct these seminars within the district. Additionally the district has created a District Equity Leadership Team with membership from a variety of district departments meeting monthly to continue to build racial equity and embed these tools and conversations throughout the district.