NEW HANOVER COUNTY — New Hanover County Schools is launching a program targeted at improving student behavior at five schools — Dorothy P. Johnson Pre-K Center, Blair Elementary, Alderman Elementary, Noble Middle School and Laney High School.
READ MORE: NHCS no longer under federal sanction, cellphone pouches discussed
Julie Varnam, assistant superintendent of support services, informed the New Hanover County Board of Education Monday of the professional development intensives that will be offered, a continuation of NHCS’ partnership with Safe & Civil Schools.
The new program is aimed at proactive intervention, preventing more students from getting to the point of severe consequences. To do so, it aims to improve individual school climate, which in turn will improve the safety and interconnectedness of schools, which could affect school attendance and academic performance.
“This is not a one-time sit and get professional development; this is very in-depth,” Varnam said. “It really questions the frameworks we already have in place. It questions the systems that we use in those particular schools. It’s a real focus on bringing those experienced and highly involved staff together to work on their own school plans for the management of student behavior.”
Varnam reported Safe & Civil Schools trainers will allow more seats in the room than just the five schools in the program. Thus, if representatives from those five schools only make up 50 seats out of 75, the remaining will be filled with educators from schools outside the program.
The program will be funded through money the district receives from the Individuals with Disabilities Act. More specifically, NHCS is mandated to set aside 15% ($900,000) of those funds due to disproportionate disciplinary rates.
The district was under a federal sanction from 2018 to this year for disproportionate suspensions of Black students with disabilities.
In 2023, Varnam reported that Black students with disabilities were suspended 4.5 times more than their white peers, while Black students overall were suspended six times more. Sanctions kick in when a district exceeds three times more than another demographic.
Varnam announced the sanction had been removed at the board’s August meeting, alongside data showing almost every category of discipline assignments (in-school and out-of-school suspensions) had decreased since the school year prior.
However, Varnam failed to mention the district was at risk of a different sanction. In May, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction informed the district it had significant disproportionality of Black students with “emotional disturbance” for three consecutive years without reasonable progress toward reducing the rate.
The U.S. Department of Education defines emotional disturbance as “a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
- An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
- An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
- Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
- A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
- A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
Behavioral management at New Hanover County Schools has been in the spotlight since 2019, when concerns emerged over the district’s frequent use of seclusion and restraint — essentially closing a student in a confined space or restraining their movements in some way as a calming method. More than 930 instances of seclusion were reported in the district in 2019, when the U.S. Department of Education said it would address potential inappropriate use of the method across school districts.
In the 2020-2021 school year, NHCS developed a policy aimed at reducing seclusion and restraint. It also began working with Safe & Civil Schools on piloted behavior leadership foundations at 11 elementary schools to decrease out-of-school suspensions among elementary students.
At the behest of activists, mainly those from the local organization Love Our Children, the district passed a policy ending out-of-school suspensions, in most cases, for K-2 students in 2022.
In the 2023-2024 school year, NHCS began using Safe & Civil Schools’ STOIC (Structuring, Teaching, Observing, Interacting with Flexibility, Correcting) framework and a multi-tiered disciplinary system. This year it will take things further with the professional development intensives.
According to Varnam, the program aligns “very much” with the findings in the staff climate survey. Conducted this past spring, the survey revealed staff felt unsupported by district leadership and the school board. On student behavior specifically, staff reported feeling as though their hands were tied when issuing consequences on student behavior.
“This is really that further development of those welcoming environments where staff and students, together, are thriving,” Varnam said. “And at a student level, this increases a sense of belonging for a student that improves their attendance and their academic engagement. They are much more interested in participating when they feel a level of success, and they feel like they belong, and they feel that they’re welcome, and they’re ready to come and do the really difficult work.”
Denise Yannone, president of the New Hanover County Special Education PTA, said Tuesday the group supported the program.
“We agree that when staff feel well informed and well equipped they can actually put their strong motivation into practice and be successful with their students. We hope that the NHC School District will see all student and adult behavior as communication and will listen to the feedback of students who struggle with mental health issues and disabilities. Like our teachers, students also need to believe they have the skills to succeed.”
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