SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — A four-year agreement between the Attorney General and the Syracuse City School District surrounding student disciplinary actions expired this year. Yet, four of the Syracuse City schools made a list of 50 high schools with the highest suspension rates in Upstate New York, according to the New York State Department of Education.
While still high, Public Service Learning Academy at Fowler, Henninger, Nottingham and Corcoran suspension rates ranked the lowest the schools have seen in the past 10 years.
The Syracuse Teachers Association president, Megan Root, said that changes in a K-12 district don’t happen over the span of three years.
“In a perfect world, we would be looking at the implementation of restorative practices starting in pre-K and kindergarten,” Root said.
She said that long-term changes happen over a 12-year cycle.
The agreement between the attorney general and the Syracuse City School District began in 2014 after the attorney general conducted an investigation of Syracuse City School District that concluded staff suspended students of color disproportionally.
