Local education advocates call for alternative disciplinary methods for students

by Cheyanne Walker

Rochester, N.Y. — Stephanie Vargas got emotional today when she was talking about her son, who was expelled from his daycare when he was just three years old.

“This was very disheartening, very frustrating for me as a parent. My child didn’t understand why he couldn’t go back to his classroom. Why he could not see his friends, the people that he bonded with since he been in this facility since the age of 5 months,” says Vargas

When most people hear school suspension, they think teenagers. However according to a new report – from the Children’s Agenda, 15,306 from 15 area school districts were suspended at least once in the 2020-2021 school year. 606 of the students were in grades pre-k through third. Missing a total of 134,712 school days.

The data showed black and Hispanic students, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students, were suspended at higher rates than their peers.

“A wide body of research shows that suspensions and explosions lead to students having less trust and identification with their school. Lower reading and math scores. Lower rates of high school graduation and college completion and most troubling increase Encounters with a criminal justice system and incarceration,” says Education Policy Director at Children’s Agenda. Eamonn Scanlon.

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