Author Archives: Suspensionstories

About Suspensionstories

Suspension Stories is a youth-led participatory action research project to understand the school to prison pipeline. This initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team (www.rogersparkywat.org) and Project NIA (www.project-nia.org).

Special Issue of Rethinking Schools: School-to-Prison Pipeline

Rethinking Schools has an excellent new issue focusing on the school-to-prison pipeline. Take some time to read through some of the great articles in the issue. From their editorial: “Every man in my family has been locked up. Most days … Continue reading

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Over 50,000 CPS Students Suspended in 2010-11

Data obtained from the Illinois State Board of Education through a Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) request show that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) administered in-school suspension to 17,020 students, out-of-school suspensions to 40,662 students and 217 expulsions in the 2010-2011 … Continue reading

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October 1 to 8 is the National Week of Action on School Pushout

This is a short video by the Dignity in Schools Campaign announcing the upcoming Week of Action on School Pushout.

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Every Second A Public School Student is Suspended…

This shocking statistic comes from the newly-released 2011 State of America’s Children Report by the Children’s Defense Fund. The reports also highlights the following findings that illustrate the school-to-prison pipeline: * Nearly 80 percent or more of Black and Hispanic … Continue reading

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Students in Chicago Demand to End Harsh Displine Policies

From News Tips: Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, a citywide, multi-racial youth-led organization backed by several community groups, is releasing a study of “the true cost of zero tolerance,” addressing the budgetary and educational costs of punitive approaches to … Continue reading

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Do School Suspensions Lead to Prison? A Blog Post from the Black Youth Project

The social and economic implications of the quality education that children in the United States of America receive while not absolute are critical in determining their future trajectories. The institution that children come into contact with the most in their … Continue reading

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Some Schools Are Rethinking Zero Tolerance

From the Washington Post: Nearly two decades after a zero-tolerance culture took hold in American schools, a growing number of educators and elected leaders are scaling back discipline policies that led to lengthy suspensions and ousters for such mistakes as … Continue reading

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Apparently Texas is Suspending and Arresting Most of Its High School Seniors…

The following article from Youth Today is stunning: More Texas students have been suspended or expelled than have not, according to a forthcoming study of state trends on school discipline. And the margin isn’t that close. Details of the study … Continue reading

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New Resource: School-to-Prison Pipeline Zine

This new zine about the school-to-prison pipeline was illustrated and written by teaching artist Rachel Marie-Crane Williams. This is part of a larger collaborative initiative called the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline Comic Arts Zine Project. This initiative brought together the Jane Addams … Continue reading

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Is School Discipline Too Harsh?

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An interview with author of “Lockdown High: When the School House Becomes A Jail House”

From New America Media: Former NAM managing editor Annette Fuentes is the author of a new book, Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes the Jail House, published by Verso. The book explores the reasons zero-tolerance policies have grown and investigates … Continue reading

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Chicago Has a new Schools CEO and Community Groups are Pressing Him to Address Suspensions

Journalist Rebecca Vivea features the work of local Chicago organizations who want the new Chicago Public School CEO to address the issue of suspensions and expulsions of students. From the article: A coalition of community organizations pushing for Chicago Public … Continue reading

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